Bhubaneswar: Sriradha Kalakunja Trust, one of the reputed institutions in Odisha established by noted Odissi dancer Guru Manaranjan Pradhan and his wife Guru Minati Pradhan, has been working to promote and popularise Odissi dance and music.
As part of it’s initiative, it hosted Kalakunja Festival 2024 at Bhanjakala Mandap in Bhubaneswar on October 16.With the auspicious lighting the lamp ceremony, the evening started. While Vice chancellor of Utkal University of Culture, Prof Prasan Kumar Swain attended the evening as the special guest, noted Mardala exponent Guru Dhaneswar Swain, eminent Odissi dancer Guru Durga Charan Ranbir and director of Magnum, Dr Gita Rani Padhi as guest of honour, guest of reverence and special guest respectively.
The host institution this year awarded three eminent personalities who have contributed a lot to the art world. Odissi dance exponent Guru Dr Snehaprava Samantray, noted Odissi singer Dr Sangeeta Gosain and noted Tabla player Guru Prafulla Kumar Bal were felicitated with Kalakunja Nrutyashree Award, Kalakunja Gayakashree Award and Kalakunja Badyashree Award respectively.
The evening commenced with a well-choreographed and well-rehearsed ‘Astalakshmi’, set to Raga Raga Malika and Tala Tala Malika, choreographed by Guru Manaranjan Pradhan, music composed by Guru Bijay Kumar Jena and rhythm composed by Guru Bijay Kumar Barik.The disciples of Guru Manaranjan Pradhan and Guru Minati Pradhan, Pratima Mohanty, Samiksha Dixit, Rojalin Sundaray, Adyasha Tripathy, Arpita Satpathy, Runu Mohanty and Swayamshree Jena gave a befitting start to the evening. All blessed with a dancer’s torso and face, they had the art connoisseurs in their thrall.
The second item of the evening was a Mangalacharan ‘Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu…’, presented by the senior and junior students of the institution such as Pratyasha, Purnita, Yashashi, Sanvika, Annapurna, Prachurya, Archana, Abhilipsa, Shikruti, Dibyanshi, Sriradha, Sandhyarani, Abhika, Anushka, Akanksha, Saima, Saisreeta, Tanushree and Sampoorna. While the item was based on Raga Kalyani and Tala Ektali, it is one of the best choreographies of Guru Pankaj Charan Das. Beautiful space management and synchronisation added to the beauty of this presentation.
In yet another choreography of Guru Pankaj Charan Das, nine students of the institution-Hrishita, Yashmita, Gargi, Pratyasha, Dipti, Suryakantee, Priyadarshini, Sonakshi and Kavya presented ‘Sthayee’, a pure dance form. Their facial expressions and lyrical body movements cast a magical spell on the audience.
The next piece was a solo one. The host institution’s one of the senior dancers, Prashasti Pritiprada came onto the stage to present ‘Vassant Pallavi’, set to Raga Vasant and Tala Ektali. Through her dance, Prashasti told her audience that Pallavi literally means blossoming and while telling this, her body synched with the narration.
The following presentation was a solo Tabla recital by Srikanta Kumar Pradhan, son of Guru Manaranjan Pradhan and Guru Minati Pradhan. Unlike the children of some renowned gurus, Srikanta doesn’t follow his parents footstep. An emerging Tabla player with having a lot going for him, Srikanta commenced his recital with ‘ekahasti paran’ and went on to present ‘uthan’, ‘peshkar gat’, ‘peshkar kayda’, ‘bol’ ‘chakradar’ and a jugalbandi with the Violin. Maharana Prabhat Charan Silpi accompanied him on the Violin. He concluded his presentation with a ‘rela’. The command he displayed during the recital speaks volume of the quality training he is receiving and practice. His performance left the audience stunned.
The sixth item of the evening was ‘Naba Durga’, choreographed by Guru Pankaj Charan Das and music composed by Guru Harihara Panda. Here the dancers beautifully depicted the nine forms of Devi Durga, leaving the audience hooked to their seats. Next, eight dancers of the institution came onto the stage to present ‘Panchadeva Stutee’, choreographed by Guru Manaranjan Pradhan, music composed by Guru Sukant Kumar Kundu and rhythm composed by Guru Dhaneswar Swain.
With some scintillating folk dance performances like ‘palli nrutya’ and ‘Koraputia Dhemsa’, the evening came to an end. Notably, the art lovers in the auditorium were seen seated till the last presentation. It highlighted the quality of training imparted at Sriradha Kalakunja Trust.
The founder of the trust, Guru Manaranjan Pradhan and Guru Minati Pradhan have the distinction of being the ‘top grade’ artistes of Prasar Bharati and ICCR. While they have performed at various festivals in and outside Odisha, they have also performed in countries like China, the US, Mexico, Italy, Singapore, Germany, Brazil and many more. Continuing their legacy, their disciples have also performed at many reputed festivals, doing credit to their gurus.
The anchor of the evening was Gyanananda Sagar.
