Bhubaneswar: The 32nd edition of the Guru Pankaj Utsav wrapped up on a high note in Bhubaneswar, leaving art lovers thoroughly enchanted. Hosted at Rabindra Mandap on March 19, the festival was organised by the Guru Pankaj Charan Odissi Gabeshana Pratisthan, in association with the Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department and the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre.
The inaugural evening witnessed the presence of dignitaries like secretary of Odisha Sahitya Akademi and Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Chandrasekhar Hota, Deputy Director of Culture Department Suchismita Mantri and Executive Director of NALCO Asutosh Rath who inaugurated the festival by lighting the auspicious lamp.
On this occasion, Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, Dr Sangita Panda, Guru Brajabandhu Ransingh and Guru Prativa Panda were felicitated with Madeli, Gauni, Binakar and Nachuni Samman respectively.
The stage then came alive with scintillating performances by Odissi dancers Abhipsa Pati, Sanjana Gauda, Sweekriti Das, Debajani Das captivated art lovers with their presentations. Adding a different flavour to the evening, Monojeet Saha from Kolkata mesmerized the audience with his Bharatanatyam presentation.
The second evening kept the momentum going with guests such as Special Secretary of Culture Department Deba Prasad Das, Chairman of SN Group of Companies Dr Pradeep Mohanty and social activist Dipti Mohanty in attendance. The artistes who cast a spell on the audience with their mesmerising performances were Odissi dancers Soumya Sucharita Pal, Bandita Ghosal, Chinmayee Tripathy, Ashaswana Biswal and Rinku Sahu. Kuchipudi dancer T Reddy Lakshmi added her own spark to the celebration with her excellent performances.
The grand finale commenced with the auspicious lighting the lamp ceremony, attended by Head of Corporate Affairs of Vedant Amit Singh, AGM of State Bank of India Bhabani Shankar Mohanty, Director of MGM Group Seema Mohanty and Kishore Chandra Das.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of ‘Mahari Samman’. This year, the recipient of the award was eminent Kathak dancer Guru Saswati Sen. The award carries a purse of Rs 1 lakh, a plaque and a shawl. She then took the centre stage and brought the house down with her mesmerising performances.
The festival drew to a fitting close with captivating Odissi recitals by Preetisha Mohapatra, Shreya Sabarbal, Swarnanki Das and Guru Pravat Kumar Swain—truly ending the celebration on a memorable note.
