Bhubaneswar: What’s better than the quintessential Odia ‘pago’, a typical mixture of seasonal ingredients, to spice up a meal and tickle your taste buds! A PAGo of different kind to stroke your creativity will soon be served on a platter to you at Gopalpur in Odisha’s Ganjan district, beginning Saturday.
PAGo or Public Art in Gopalpur was initiated last year to present the beach town not just as a holiday destination but also an eco-retreat spot.
The official website maintains, “PAGo is an appetizer, a catalyst in improving the taste buds and so is the art festival. The logo is a further human way of showing the handcrafted nature of the festival.”
Gopalpur has a history lesser known to the tourists. It was one of the major trading ports during World War II, said Sujit Mohapatra, founder of Bakul, which is the event curator. “It was a major centre for Persians and there are still some ruins of the British-era buildings. These ruins form the backdrop of the fest, with lots of creative work to it,” he added.
Last year, the two-day fest drew people in hordes and this year too, the organisers are expecting a good response. The focus is on the heritage and rich cultural traditions of Gopalpur and Ganjam and to reinvent and represent them in contemporary idioms. Local communities like fishermen and residents are also being engaged to create art works with all the knowledge and material resources available to them.
These two days, artists will create beautiful wall murals depicting the society.
Last year, the murals on wall presented different aspects of Odisha. ‘Passing the Blackbuck’ by Dibyush Jena, which paid tribute to man-animal friendship in Ganjam where communities befriend and protect blackbucks, caught many eyes. There was ‘Hip Bagha’, an amalgamation of Bagha Nacha, the famous tiger dance of the district, and hip hop and ‘Ashore but Alive’ which was probably the largest wall mural in Odisha, among others.
“There will be art installations by Odisha-based artists and workshops on clay modelling and sand casting. Public wall painting is also being incorporated that will go on for two days,” said Sophia Simon, co-founder of Detour Odisha and branding partners of the event. Recently, their video on Gopalpur’s scenic magnificence was unveiled.
The event will begin with cyclathon from Berhampur Stadium to Gopalpur Beach Front and conclude with cultural performances, including Ganjam art cultural show, Odia retro musical evening where songs of legendary Odia singer-composer Akshaya Mohanty will be played, college band performance and soulful Sufi music by Sashank Shekhar of Rising Star India fame.
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