The 21st Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival, organised recently by Srjan in Bhubaneswar, brought together noted musicians and dancers from across the country. On the occasion, the Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on Dr. Shantanu Mohapatra (music) and Guru Giridhari Nayak (dance).
The inaugural performance of the five-day festival was a rare gem. Odissi dancer Sharmila Biswas chose ‘Rag Madhuri’ by way of tribute to her Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.
Of the 10 melas constituting Odissi music, she presented one ‘Swaramalika’ from the first 6, incorporating ‘bhramaris’ (circular movements) adorned with broad ‘chaukas.’ As a basaksajja nayika in the ashtapadi, ‘Pashyati Dishi Dishi,’ her impassionate abhinaya matched the brilliance of her dancing.
Carnatic vocalist O.S. Arun chose Oothukkadu Venkata Subbaier’s ‘Swagatham Krishna’ in Mohanam. The auditorium reverberated with bhakti as Arun sang captivating Krishna bhajans such as ‘Chinna Chinna Padam’ in Kapi, adi talam, Swati Tirunal’s Shyam Kalyan-based ‘Aaaj Ayo Shyam Mohana’ and the soul-stirring Ashtapadi, ‘Priye Charushiley.’ The Odiya song, ‘Maalli Mala Shyamaku Debi’ was a surprise inclusion before the concluding abhang, ‘Pandari Pandhari.’
Mohiniyattam dancer Mandakini Trivedi opened the second evening with ‘Ganesh Vandana.’ ‘Suryatatwa’ by K.V. Pannikar followed, in Revagupti and Saranga, set to the nine beat tala Ashtakam. ‘Pranamamyaham Surya’ initiated the grand presentation embellished with lovely ati-bhanga flexions and chiripus. With quivering hands and animated eyes, ‘Prajalwa Kashyapa’ was impactful prior to the concluding Gayatri Mantra.
Mandakini took the liberty of presenting the Kathakali attakatha ‘Urvashi Shapam’ in Mohiniyattam style. Praiseworthy was the abhinaya, a sly smile and bold eye movements, when she enjoyed Arjuna’s distress on being cursed to be an eunuch.
Guru Satchidananda Das concluded the evening with an energetic mardala recital displaying his wizardry on the indispensible Odissi percussion instrument.
Vidhya Subramanian’s Bharatanatyam left the audience spellbound. A stunning presence, she rendered ‘Shambhu Natanam,’ the kriti ‘Chikkavanei,’ and ‘Dasavatar’ choreographed by her guru S.K. Rajaratnam, set to Khandachapu tala, where she expressed with the jatis, and not the lyrics, Annamachari’s keertanam ‘Indariki abhayambu.’ And her triumph in abhinaya and virtuosity was best seen in the Ashtapadi, ‘Yahi Madhava.’
Tabla maestro Pandit Kumar Bose accompanied by stalwart Pandit Dharamnath Mishra on the harmonium, presented gems of the Benaras Gharana in teen taal.
Precious compositions of the ‘Benaras Baaj,’ ‘Ramsahayji’ and ‘Bhairosahabji ki cheez’ were rare. The concluding Manna Dey thumri, ‘O Lalitha’ on the harmonium was enjoyable.
The exhilarating recital by the classical band, Samarpan, with Ninad Mulaokar (flute), Manas Kumar (violin), I.D. Rao (saxophone), Vishal Dhumal (keyboard), Gautam Sharma (percussion) and Ojas Adhiya (tabla) was greeted with thunderous applause.
Srjan’s triple bill of Namdeva’s abhang, ‘Yehi ho Vitthala Bhaktajanavatsaley-Pandurangey’; thillana, with innovative movements, set to Dr. Vysarzu Balasubramanium’s stirring music; and the dance-drama ‘Naamami Gange’ with music by Lakshmikant Palit and scripted by Nityananda Mishra, saw the creativity of Guru Ratikant Mohapatra come to the fore.
Ratikant infused bhava into the craft and thought beyond the mundane with his text and form. His dancers acted as props and played multiple roles effectively.
‘Naamami Gange’ was not just the story of Ganga Avataran flowing from the locks of Lord Siva and into the sea after the Ashwamedh Yagna, but also dealt with contemporary issues such as pollution of the river.
Expert dancing apart, memorable scenes such as the imagery of Gomukh, the flowing of Ganga carrying and burning of a dead body at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, all were depicted by formations, hand and body movements.
Appropriate light design added to the success of the dazzling production.