Bhubaneswar: The fourth evening of 29h OMC Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival 2023, organised by Srjan and going on at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar, witnessed an enthralling Kuchipudi recital by noted Kathak dancer Smt. Amrita Lahiri and an captivating Tabla recital by Ustad Akram Khan.
The penultimate evening of the festival commenced with the lighting of the lamp by esteemed guests Prabodh Kumar Rath, Secretary, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi; Guru Dhaneswar Swain and Guru Satchidananda Das, renowned Mardala Exponents of Odisha who are all known across the country for their stellar contributions to the field of percussion; and Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, Festival Director.
The first performer of cultural evening was Smt. Amrita Lahiri, who presented a captivating three-piece Kuchipudi recital, ably accompanied on the nattuvangam by Vijay Kumar S; on the mridangam by Satish Krishnamurty; on the violin by Smt. Mangala Vaidyanathan; and on the mellifluous vocals by the Sujesh Menon.
She began with an invocation to Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles, seeking His auspicious blessings to commence the programme. Describing the joyous dance of Lord Ganesha through her laudable stage presence and crisp movements, Ananda Narthana Ganapatim, a choreography of Shri Jaikishore Mosalikanti was a befitting invocation to the evening.
After this, she performed Usha Parinayam, from a Kuchipudi dance drama that she learnt under the able training of Smt. Swapnasundari. In this solo version of the dance drama, rich with drama and emotions, the dancer enters as the titular character Usha, dreaming of the handsome prince who embraced her in her sleep. In a nuanced portrayal of this nayika, Amrita Lahiri enacted the awakening of Usha from her dream and the interaction with her sakhi, reminiscing the handsome prince who loved her and went away.
She concluded with a powerful Shiva Tarangam, a choreograph of Shri Jaikishore Mosalikanti. The presentation described the glories and majestic of the Almighty Nirguna Parabrahma, from the top of whose matted locks, the Holy Ganga descends. A portrayal of the story of her descent from his Jata, this majestic Tarangam ended with the dancer dancing on a plate, a trademark of Kuchipudi and a delight to watch, with Amrita Lahiris control and stage presence.
In the second half of the evening, internationally known Tabla player Ustad Akram Khan took the audience to a different world. He was ably accompanied by Nilay Salvi on the Harmonium.
The audiences witnessed an intricate, and rhythmically captivating percussion recital, that set the auditorium reverberating to the timbre of Akram Khans delightful Tabla play, rendered effortlessly.
With these versatile presentations, the penultimate evening of the festival came to an end. The artistes were aided by the radiant light designing of Debiprasad Mishra and Sujith Raj, the meticulous sound engineering of C. Anand Krishna and Bharath Krishna, with the elegant and striking visual media, both live and in the background, by Dhilip Kumar.
The entire festival has been curated, conceptualized, and designed by Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, with the programme execution by Debiprasad Mishra. Mrutyunjaya Rath ably conducted the proceedings of the evening.
Photo courtesy: Srjan
