Bhubaneswar : After the brilliant Sarangi recital of Sabir Khan, accompanied by Ishaan Ghosh’s wonderfully articulate Tabla presentation, and the outstanding Odissi performances of Niharika Mohanty and the Rudrakshya ensemble on the third evening of the 25th OMC Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival 2019 on September 7, the fourth day followed a similar format with a Hindustani music recital followed by Odissi performances.
Esteemed guests, S.K. Tamotia, Vice Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bhubaneswar Kendra; Chitta Ranjan Malia, eminent scholar and author and Ratikant Mohapatra, Director, Srjan inaugurated the programme with the lighting of the lamp.
The first performance of the evening was the Hindustani Vocal recital of Indrani Mukherjee, an accomplished exponent of the Benaras Gharana. She was accompanied on the Tabla by the creative and versatile musician, Apurba Mukherjee and on the harmonium by Gourab Chatterjee and Sachidananda Sahoo on the Tanpura. She presented three compositions through the course of the evening. The first was a khayal in Raag Kedar. This was composed in Vilambit Ek Taal, Madhyam Teen Taal followed by a Tarana. While the Vilambit and Tarana for this composition have been composed by Shri Bhaduri, the medium tempo in between has been composed by Pt. Ramashreya Jha. Celebrating the season of monsoon with beautiful lyrics describing the rains, this inaugural piece was a mesmerising rendition of musical harmony.
Her second presentation was a Kajri, in Raag Pilu. The rendition of Kehenva Mano Oh Radha Rani highlighted her exceptional musical sensibilities, leaving an indelible impression on the audience. The final presentation was a Bhajan in Raag Hemant. Beautifully interwoven with her individual creative expression, Indrani presented this raag creating a deep and soothing atmosphere for the audience, a perfect conclusion to an evening of harmonious Hindustani music.
Following this was the first Odissi group presentation of the evening by Soor Mandir from Cuttack, led by Jyotsna Rani Sahoo. They presented Rasanuraga. As conceived and choreographed by Jyotsna Sahoo, and set to the music composition of Agnimitra Behera and the rhythm composition of Dhaneswar Swain, this dance portrayed the deep connection between rain and love and explored the various connotations between both. Set to Ragamalika and Talamalika, the dancers presented the production with good stage presence and expressions.
The final performance of the evening was by noted Odissi exponent Gajendra Panda’s group Tridhara. Tridhara presented three dance pieces, Mangalacharan, Kirvani Pallavi and Ram Bhajan. Titled Lakshmi Nrusingha Dhyana, the Mangalacharan began with an invocation to Lord Gajanana, and then a prayer to Lakshmi Nrusingha, Lord Vishnu in his half man half lion form, merged with Goddess Lakshmi on his lap. The verses for this presentation have been adapted from Prahalad Natak, the folk theatre of Ganjam district of Odisha. This Mangalacharan featured the hallmark Sabda Swara Pata, a key feature of the Guru Deba Prasad Das gharana, and was set to the music composition of Dr. Gopal Chandra Panda, rhythm composition of Dr. Banamali Moharana and the dance choreography of Dr. Gajendra Panda. This was followed by a pure dance or pallavi, set to Raag Kirvani, composed by Laxmikant Palit and Dhaneswar Swain on music and rhythm respectively and the dance choreography of Dr. Gajendra Panda. The presentation concluded with a Ram Bhajan, drawn from Nagarakirtana tradition of South Odisha. With the music composition of Dr. Gopal Chandra Panda and the dance composition of Dr. Gajendra Panda, this Bhajan also propounded the narratives of Daskathia, popular folk form of Ganjam. The dancers of Tridhara displayed good energy and neat footwork throughout their performance, making it a befitting conclusion to the fourth evening of the Award Festival.
In the upcoming days, this seven-day celebration will feature the Hindustani Sarod recital of Debasmita Bhattacharya, a special evening of Odissi Music by Bijay Kumar Jena, and Odissi group presentations by Bhubaneswar based institutions Nupur, Art Vision, Nrutyashala, and Nrutyayan. The final day of the festival will feature the special Award ceremony for the presentation of the NALCO Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Awards and NALCO Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Yuva Prativa Samman, and the much awaited presentation Namami Gange by the Srjan ensemble, choreographed by Ratikant Mohapatra.
Comments are closed.