Bhubaneswar: The lush green ambiance of the 11th Century AD famous Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday came alive with the beginning of three-day-long Rajarani Music Festival 2023, organised by the Department of Odia Language, Literature & Culture, Government of Odisha in association with Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi.
The evening’s first programme was Hindustani Instrumental Sitar & Cello recital by Maestro Pandit Shubhendra Rao & Maestro Saskia de Haas. Their first presentation was Rag Kirwani and Teen Taal followed by various ragas and talas which were encouraging and enjoyed by the music aficionados. Ram Kumar Mishra gave them a able support on the Tabla.
The evening’s second artiste was internationally acclaimed Hindustani vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. He regaled the audience with his mystical performances. He was accompanied by Jyotismay Banerjee on the Harmonium, Jashwant Vaishnav on the Tabla and Mihir Paralikar on vocal support. The art connoisseurs were captivated by the superb presentations of the evening’s musical recitals.
The dignitaries who graced the inaugural evening were Aswini Kumar Patra, Odia Language, Literature, Culture & Excise Minister; Satyabrata Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Odia Language, Literature, Culture Department; Dilip Routrai, Director, Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department; Madhusudan Das, Special Secretary, Odia Language, Literature, Culture Department and Prabodh Kumar Rath, Secretary, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi.
The programme was anchored by Anuja Tarini Mishra.
