Here’s How Two-Day Virtual Odissi Festival ‘Arunodaya’ Concluded

Bhubaneswar: With the spotlight focused on him, artiste Santosh Ram—who plays Krishna—portrays the lord’s restlessness, with fluid movements on the virtual stage. Minutes into his solo performance at the annual cultural event of School of Creative Hands (SOCH) —Arunodaya—he enacts Krishna playing the flute as he hears the echo of Radha from the sky, water, birds and feels her presence all around as if her soul resides inseparably inside him.

The artiste was presenting an Odissi Abhinaya set to an Ashtapadhi titled ‘Priye Charusheele’ from Jayadev’s Gita Govinda.

One could witness the magical Abhinaya as he portrayed the burning passion of Kama in Krishna through powerful expressions. His performance—packed with graceful moves—presented Krishna as helpless as a boatman without his paddle, sinking in the ocean. With Radha being upset and angry with Krishna, the artiste beautifully depicts how the lord would cajole and flatter her, displaying his own longing. Dancing to the tunes of music composed by Guru Ramahari Das and rhythm set by Guru Dhaneswar Swain, the artiste balanced the act well with expressions as well as graceful stances.

The two-day virtual dance festival concluded on Sunday (December 19). As the pandemic continues, SOCH decided to go virtual. The event was streamed on SOCH Facebook and Youtube accounts.

The festival started with ‘Krishna Mangalacharan’, presented by SOCH dancers. Artiste Manoj Pradhan performed Raageshree Pallavi, followed by an Abhinaya ‘Mohane Deli Chahin’. Later, artiste Mridula Naik performed Saberi Pallavi.

The first day of Arunodaya ended with the online exhibition of beautiful artwork presented by Mona Kapoor and her students at SOCH. The events on the second day started with ‘Sarswati Manglacharan’ by Aarushi Samal. The festival also witnessed an Abhinaya, ‘Lalita Lavang’ by Shreshtha Panda. The event concluded with the energetic Kalyani Pallavi, performed by SOCH dancers.