The 22nd Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra award festival was organised by Srjan recently at the Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar.
The five–day event opened with pushpanjali to the legendary guru followed by mangalacharan by three distinguished Odissi dancers, Aruna Mohanty, Sujata Mohapatra and Meera Das. They were accompanied by Srinibas Satpathy on flute and a musical ensemble comprising Ratikant Mohapatra and Bijoy Barik (mardala), Ramesh Chandra Das and Agnimitra Behera (violin), Ekalabya Muduli (manjira) and Rupak Parida (vocal).
The Hamsadhwani pallavi, definitely the high point, was packed with sophisticated rhythm patterns. ‘Nari’, conceptualised by Aruna Mohanty, focused on Sita, Shabari and Meera.Known for her abhinaya prowess, Aruna excelled as Sita. Her captivating portrayal was enhanced by Rupak Parida’s singing and Bijoy Kumar Barik’s rhythm compositions. Shabari by Sujata, was an expression of bhakti, choreographed by Ratikant with Raghunath Panigrahi’s music recomposed by Rupak Parida.
With Kavita Krishnamurty’s original rendition modified by Srinibas Satpathy, Meera Das appealed with her choreography of the segment on Meera.
The festival also featured A.Kanyakumari’s violin concert. She began with ‘Vatapi Ganapatim’ in Hamsadhwani followed by ragas Kannada Gowla, Vachaspati, Pahadi and finally concluding with Bhairavi. She captivated the listeners, who gave her a standing ovation.
On the second day, Satyanarayana Raju performed Bharatanatyam. He portrayed different characters such as Rama, Sita, Kausalya, Manthara, Kaikeyi, Dasaratha, Sabari and Hanuman from the Ramayana with aplomb. He rounded off his recital with a brisk thillana.
Sitar exponent Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan lived up to his musical lineage by demonstrating his mastery over layakari.
Odissi dancer Rahul Acharya was not his usual energetic self. Nevertheless, he presented a convincing Chakravak Pallavi and the Ashtapadi, ‘Priye Charushiley.’
Pt. Yogesh Samsi’s gems of the Punjab gharana on the tabla in teen taal, executing peshkar, kaida, rela, bedamdar Chakradhar, and Ustad Allah Rakha and Nizamuddin Khan’s compositions were fascinating.
The footwork and wizardry of rhythms of the Jaipur and Lucknow gharana by Kathak dancer Asimbandhu Bhattacharya in taal Dhamar delighted although the Nazm, ‘Tere khushboo mein’ proved to be a disappointment.
Pt. Pravin Godkhindi’s gatkari and tatkari style of the Kirana gharana on the flute, with elaboration of raga Marubihag (rupak taal), was soul-stirring.
The Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award was presented on the final day to Jharna Das (cinema) and Kishore Kumar Mohanty (dance). Four Yuva Pratibha Samman has been instituted from his year, along with Nrutya Kala Samman.
The dance-drama ‘Tyaaga’ by the artists of Srjan, inspired by the musical and theatrical elements of Odia Geetinatya was another highlight.
Adapted from Kartik Ghosh’s play ‘Lakhyahira,’ it was scripted by Jaidev Das. ‘Tyaaga’ was the story of two women, Anusuya and Radha, and how their devotion and sacrifice transformed lives.
In keeping with the Geetinatya tradition, the production opened with the vibrant music of dholaki, harmonium and clarionet. Ratikant Mohapatra, an inventive choreographer, exploited the dramatic and dance elements. to come up with this marvellous production that had music of Lakshmikant Palit.
