Bhubaneswar: Nrutyashala, a Bhubaneswar based dance institution established by noted Odissi dancer Ashok Kumar Ghosal, has been organising ‘Margi…The Classical Dance Festival’ for the past nine years. The three-day-long tenth edition starting 17th August, 2020 was virtual due to coronavirus pandemic.
The inaugural evening was kicked off by a splendid item by Kavita Dwibedi, daughter and disciple of Odissi maestro Guru Harekrushna Behera.
Her item was an abhinay ‘Jhuk Aayi Ri Badariya…’, a Meera bhajan. Her depiction of how Meera finds her divine Krishna everywhere. The item was while choreographed by Kavita herself, music was composed by Suresh Sethy.
The second item was an abhinaya ‘Bada Mayabi Jiba…’ presented by Biswa Bhusan Champatiray. The item was choreographed by Guru Niranjan Rout, concept by Prof Guru Naba Kishore Mishra and music and rhythm composed by Suramani Ramesh Das and Bijay Kumar Barik respectively. Biswa Bhushan, a native of Dhenkanal and presently staying in Bhubaneswar, is a talented Odissi dancer. Konark Festival, Mukteswar Festival, Dhauli Festival, Khajurao Festival, Raipur Festival, Barabati Nrutya Mahotsav are some of the many festivals where he has showcased his talent. Starting from body language to facial expression, he has everything going for him to be one of the promising dancers of his time.
The second evening witnessed two acclaimed dancers. One was Madhulita Mohapatra from Bangalore and the second one was Sattabdi Mallick from Kolkata.
A recipient of prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi and Kempegowda award, Madhulita brought an abhinaya ‘Ramate Yamuna Pulina Vane’ from Jayadeva’s Geeta Govinda. In this item, set to raga Pilu and tala Ektali, Madhulita beautifully portrayed Radha waiting for her beloved Krishna. She visualises how Krishna is busy in love play with someone else near the bank of Yamuna river. The item was choreographed by Guru Smt. Aruna Mohanty.
Madhulita, an ‘A’ grade artiste of Doordarshan and an empanelled artiste of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is a disciple of Guru Gangadhara Pradhan, Guru Smt Aruna Mohanty, Guru Pabitra Kumar Pradhan and Guru Krushnachandra Sahoo. She has established an institution through which she is presently popularising Odissi in South India.
The second presentation of the evening was a pure dance item ‘Bajrakanti Pallavi’ by Sattabdi Mallick. One of the best choreographies by Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, the presentation was based on raga Bajrakanti and tala Ektali.
The attraction of the third and concluding evening was noted dancer Jyoti Rout, established in USA. With her signature lyrical body movement within the grammar, Jyoti performed an abhinaya ‘Braja Raja Kumor’.
Jyoti did justice to poet Dina Krishna Das’s lines with her own choreography while music composition by Guru Bijay Kumar Jena and rhythm composition by Guru Satchidananda Das.
Her Radha is on cloud nine after meeting her beloved Krishna. She describes before sakhis what happened when she met Krishna. Though the presentation is best suited to auditorium presentation, it was yet a treat for eyes.
A gifted dancer, Jyoti’s tryst with dance happened when she was mere a child and witnessed a tribal dance. Later, to quench her thirst, she enrolled at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalay. The journey then started is still going on. She has founded ‘Jyoti Kala Mandir’ in Berkeley California.
Next Debasish Patnaik enthralled the online viewers with Suryashtaka. The item was composed by Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, music composed by Dr Ramahari Das and rhythm by Guru Niranjan Patra. Set to raga Bairagi and tala Jati, the presentation was excellent.
Ashok Kumar Ghosal and Bandita Ghosal were the director and assistant director of the festival respectively.
By kalasanskruti
