Bhubaneswar: The 26th edition of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival kick-started Saturday here. The festival, organized by Srjan, went online this year due to coronavirus pandemic.
Veteran actress and MP Hema Malini inaugurated the event with a digital message. Then came the much awaited moment of witnessing two best performers.
The inaugural item was brought by Smt. Madhusmita Mohanty, renowned Odissi dancer and performer from Bhubaneswar. She presented three dance pieces from the traditional Odissi repertoire, beginning with a Mangalacharan, invoking the blessings of Lord Jagannath for an auspicious beginning. The following items were Kirwani Pallavi, a timeless and evergreen composition of the legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra set to the music composition of Pt. Bhubaneswar Mishra— Kirwani Pallavi, in Raag Kirwani and Khemta Taal and an abhinaya “Mādhave, mā kuru mānini mānam aye,” an excerpt from poet Shri Jayadeva’s Geeta Govinda.
As it is the tradition of the festival that a classical dance presentation followed by a classical music recital, the second and last presentation was by Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan and the Grammy award, Pt. Bhatt, who is the creator of the Mohan Veena, mesmerized the online viewers by exploring the intricacies and nuances of six mellifluous tunes, namely Raag Yaman, Raag Ramdasi Malhar, Raag Tilak Kamod, Raag Jaijaiwanti, Raag Pilu, and Raag Hamsadhwani.
By kalasanskruti
(Photo courtesy: Srjan)
