Bhubaneswar : The fourth evening of the 25th OMC Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival featured the Hindustani Vocalist and Thumri exponent Indrani Mukherjee’s harmonious recital, ably accompanied by the experienced Apurba Mukherjee on Tabla, Gourab Chatterjee on Harmonium and Sachidananda Sahu on the Tanpura. This was followed by group presentations in Odissi dance by Soor Mandir, from Cuttack, led by Jyotsna Rani Sahoo, concluding with Ganjendra Panda’s ensemble, Tridhara.
On September 9, the fifth evening, guests of honour, Ramahari Das, eminent Odissi vocalist and Debasmita Bhattacharya, renowned Sarad Player along with Ratikant Mohapatra, Director, Srjan inaugurated the evening’s programme with the lighting of the lamp.
The first presentation was a Sarod recital by Debasmita Bhattacharya, ably accompanied by Sandip Ghosh on Tabla. They presented an evening of Raag Durga. A seasonal raag based on Sharad Ritu, Debasmita Bhattacharya’s recital created a mellifluous ambience which perfectly portrayed this raag. Beginning with a short alaap, the composition was a beautiful amalgam of three sections, beginning with Vilambit Teen Taal in sixteen beats, moving on to Ek Taal, and concluding with a composition in Dhrut. Interwoven with a beautiful bandish celebrating the oncoming of Durga Puja, Jaya Durge Ma. Presenting pieces composed by the legendary Sarod exponent, Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, Debasmita Bhattacharya’s immense versatility enabled her to explore a variety musical nuances, emphasizing her very own individual creative expression, while Sandip Ghosh rendered dynamic and effortless Tabla accompaniment note for note.
This was followed by the group presentation of Nupur Dance Academy, under the mentorship of Niranjan Rout. They presented Khamaj Pallavi, a pure dance presentation and Shiva Stotram, an Abhinaya. Both the presentations have been composed by Niranjan Rout, set to the music composition of K. Ramarao Patra and the rhythm composition of Dhaneswar Swain. Set to Raag Khamaj and Triputa Taal, the dancers presented this Pallavi with neat and crisp movements. This was followed by an Abhinaya, Shiva Stotram, celebrating the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, the Tandava, praising the lord and seeking salvation from him through the power of dance. An energetic presentation, Nupur concluded their recital with the Shiva Stotram.
The final presentation was by Dr. Ileana Citaristi’s group Art Vision. They presented the production ‘Akshara -A Dalliance with the Odia Alphabet’. Akshara is a poetic composition which captures dancing with the Odia alphabet in a mood of gaiety, both as dalliance and also as homage to this rich and ancient language. Beginning with the rituals of commencement of writing in any Odia village by drawing three circles on the dry mud with lime sticks, these initial shapes and shadows of roundness were shown to denote the genesis of the Odia alphabet. Scripted and conceptualised by Devdas Chhotray, and set to the melodious musical composition of Lakshmikant Palit, the dance choreography for this presentation is by Dr. Ileana Citarist, and features special sand animation by Sudarshan Pattnaik. The dancers presented this novel concept with neat footwork, and commendable stage presence.
The penultimate evening of the Award Festival on September 10 will witness a special evening of Odissi Music by Bijay Kumar Jena and other eminent msuicians of Odisha. This will be followed by group presentations by Odissi dance institutions, Nrutyashala, led by Ashok Ghosal and Nrutyayan, by Durga Charan Ranbir. The concluding 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.
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