Odissi Vocal & Bharatnatyam Feature 2nd Evening Of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The second evening of the 28th OMC Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival, hosted by Srjan, one of the leading Odissi dance institutions, at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar, witnessed captivating performance by promising Odissi vocalist Sushree Sristi Swarupa Mishra and Bharatnatyam by renowned dancer Vidushi Geeta Chandran on Tuesday.

The evening started with an Odissi vocal recital by upcoming singer Sushree Sristi Swarupa Mishra. She commenced with Saraswati Vandana, followed by Raganga Gayan, set to Raga Mukhari and Ekatali. Her third and final presentation was a Chatustalaa Prabandha “Nahi Ke Karidela,” written by Kishor Kabi Shyam Sundar Das. She was accompanied by the sangaat of eminent musicians Guru Dhaneswar Swain on Mardala and Guru Ramesh Chandra Das on violin.

It was followed by Bharatanatyam performance by Vidushi Geeta Chandran and her ensemble the Natya Vriksha Dance Collective (NVDC). A recipient of Padmashri and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, she is also a Tagore National Fellow.

Natya Vriksha presented a recital of Jai Bharat Alarippu and Sakhi Swaram, built on a Kannada Jatiswaram composed by late Guru KN Dandayudhapani Pillai. They were aided by the able technical design of Shri Milind Srivastav and sound engineering of Shri C. Anand Krishna. Then, Geeta Chandran presented a solo composition, Lavanyatwam, a tribute to Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.

The chief guests of the evening were Subodh Chandra Acharya, Chief Executive, GKCM Odissi Research Centre; Sudhi Ranjan Mishra, Head, Corporate Affairs, Paradeep Phosphates Limited; Guru Aruna Mohanty, president, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi and Guru Dhaneswar Swain, eminent Mardala exponent.

The festival, which is being streamed live on Srjan’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, has been curated,  conceptualised and designed by Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, with the programme execution by Debiprasad Mishra. Mrutyunjaya Rath and Anuja Mishra conducted the proceedings of the evening.