Bhubaneswar: The 3rd evening of the 17th Guru Debaprasad Award Festival organised by Tridhara at Rabindra Mandap here witnessed an evening showcasing a beautiful blend of Odissi dance, Mardala recital with classical vocal recital on October 28.
The evening commenced with a solo Odissi dance by Ms. Bagmishree Das. Her first item was Mangalacharan – Laxmi Nrusingha Dhyana set to raga Mangalagujari & Lalita, music composed by Guru Gopal Chandra Panda, Rhythm Composed by Guru Banamali Maharana and dance choreographed by Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda. She followed it up with Nabarasa, set to raga Malika and tala-Malika, the dance was choreographed by Guru Debaprasad Das. Her every movement of the body and each gesture of limb are analyzed with basic emotional steps, pattern of rhythm and musical note to make the dance form more elegant, attractive and meaningful.
The next presentation was Duet Mardala Recital by Guru Dhaneswara Swain and Guru Sachidananda Das. Guru Dhaneswara Swāin is an exponent and Guru of the Odissi Mardala, the traditional percussion instrument of Odissi music. He is known for his rhythmic compositions and fingering techniques, as well as his efforts to promote solo Mardala recitals and group presentations combining traditional percussive instruments. Similarly Guru Sachidananda Das plays the mardala, traditionally the primary percussion instrument in a performance of Odissi Classical Music. The duet presentation was made on Aditala and Trital of 16 beats producing different layakaris punctuated with bols or Ukutas with special use of traditional musical phases. Their presentation was highly applauded for it was intellectually satisfying and emotionally appealing.
The concluding presentation of the evening was a solo light classical vocal recital by Pandit Siba Prasad Rath. He sang some beautiful traditional, devotional and classical songs. The presentation by Pandit Siba Prasad Rath was marked by the flawless elaboration of Ragas, creativity and embellishment of the Ideation and beautiful melody.
The dignitaries who graced the occasion were Shri Manmath Kumar Satapathy, Vice President Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi; Shri M. K. Patel, Secretary, Sur Singar Samsad & Founder Patel Foundation; Dr. Nita Bidyarthi, Art Critic and Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda, Director, Tridhara. The programme was anchored by Biswajit Baliarsingh.
