Bhubaneswar: The prestigious Dr. Dibakar Mishra Gandharva Kala Mahotsav 2025, marking the golden jubilee of the renowned cultural organization Gandharva Kala Parishad, Bhubaneswar, was grandly inaugurated at Rabindra Mandap on June 21, drawing art aficionados and connoisseurs from far and wide.
The two-day festival, held under the stewardship of the organization’s co-founder Smt. Basanti Mishra, was inaugurated by lighting the auspicious lamp by eminent Odissi music exponent Pandit Gopal Chandra Panda, Odissi dancer Padma Shri Kumkum Mohanty and veteran lyricist Gaur Patnaik.
Adding to the luster of the evening, four distinguished personalities such as legendary weaver and craftsman Padma Shri Chaturbhuj Meher, renowned poet Dr. Saubhagya Kumar Mishra, iconic Odissi dancer Padma Guru Durga Charan Ranbir and acclaimed filmmaker Sabyasachi Mohapatra were felicitated with the Dr. Dibakar Mishra Gandharva Kala Lifetime Achievement Samman 2025 for lifelong contribution to visual arts, literary arts, performing arts and cine arts respectively.
The cultural evening got off to a fine start with the host institution’s eight well-trained dancers of the host institution (Chinmayee Behera, Swetapragyan Nayak, Suryakanti Sahu, Saini Sulabha Panigrahi, Itishree Panda, Subhashree Panda, Gayatri Behera and Aishwarya Ayasha) presenting ‘Shiv Tandav’, choreographed by legendary Odissi dancer Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and directed by Guru Muktilata Pal.
The powerful and at the same time balanced performance of the dancers set the motion of the evening rolling with the art lovers appreciating their neat presentation.
The second item of the evening was a pleasant surprise. One of the dancers from the first batch students of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pranati Mohanty presented a soul-stirring solo rendition, ‘To Lagi…’, set to Raga Shankarabharan, choreographed by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and music composed by Pandit Bhubaneswar Mishra.
Her abhinaya skills, graceful movements and impressive facial expressions left the art lovers and common audience spellbound. Her swift switching between two characters, witty Krishna and Radha who warns the former not to move on the streets of Gopapura as he creates troubles with his pranks, was seen to be believed.
It was a masterclass in theatrical fluidity, indeed.
The third performer of the evening was a Kolkata based dancer and a disciple of Guru Poushali Mukerjee, Dr Pompi Paul.
She commenced her recital with a sensuous ‘Shringar Pallavi’, a pure dance set to Raga Anandabhairavi, Tala Ektali, music composed by Late Sumanta Mohanty and rhythm by Guru Sachidananda Das, choreographed by Guru Poushali Mukerjee and followed it up with the evocative abhiunaya ‘Leelanidhi He’, choreographed by Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and music composed by Pandit Bhubaneswar Mishra.
Dr Paul while left the audience mesmerized with her sculptural stances in the first item, she left them wanting more in her second performance, a ‘La Champu’, where she portrayed the character of Radha, who is tired of Krishna’s pranks and pleading with the creator of all leelas to give her saree back as she is melting in shame, with ease.
The following item of the evening was a duet recital ‘Adi Dev’ by Dr. Noor Raza and Tithibhadra Mohapatra.
While the former is the founder of Prasannakshee, an Odissi dance institution and director of Pancham Veda Utsav, a national cultural festival organized in Berhampur, the latter is a disciple of Guru Ramesh Chandra Jena and a repertory student of Prasannakshee.
All throughout their performance, choreographed by Dr Raza himself, concept and script by Er Srinivas Ghatuary, music by Agnimitra Behera and rhythm composed by Guru Dhaneswar Swain, the energy they radiated on the stage was remarkable. The incorporation of 12 poses of Surya Namaskar made the presentation more visually appealing.
The fifth item of the evening was a group presentation by nine dancers of Nrutya Naivedra, an Odissi dance institution established by Pravat Kumar Swain.
The item was ‘Shad Ripu’ and the dancers were Aniket Pallav Nayak, Pravakar Swain, Ranjan Kumar Rout, Tanuj Panda, biswarupa Dixit, Suchismita Sahoo, Shakti Sampoorna Parida, Tilotama das and Saina Dhal.
In this item, choreographed by Pravat Kumar Swain, script by Mahendra Acharya, music Matruprasad Das and rhythm by Guru Dhaneswar Swain, the dancers narrated how six internal enemies of human beings such as Kama (desire), Krodha (anger), Lova (greed), Mada (sense of ‘I’), Moha (attachments), Mascharyam (jealousy) are causing troubles. The performance was marked with excellent synchronization.
The evening ended on a lively note with captivating Sambalpuri folk dances ‘Maila Jada’ and ‘Bulei nebi tote ama gaon ke’ by the institution’s students.
The art lovers were seen enjoying the evening till the last item.
Guru Dr. Gayatri Mishra, renowned Odissi dancer and Secretary of Gandharva Kala Parishad, was present during the event. Stage anchoring was gracefully handled by Dr. Mrutyunjaya Rath, while festival director Sanjay Bhatt, an accomplished visual artist and storyteller, extended the vote of thanks. Tapan Mishra efficiently oversaw the entire event’s coordination and management.
