Bhubaneswar: The Utkal Rangamanch auditorium on the premises of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, came alive on Sunday evening as Avantika Academy of Cultural and Social Welfare hosted the seventh Annandini National Cultural Fest and Indira Kritti Samman 2025.
Founded in 2007 by Guru Dr (Smt) Manjushree Panda, Avantika Academy of Cultural and Social Welfare has been a cradle for nurturing young talents and promoting rich heritage of Odissi dance.
Guru Dr (Smt) Panda, one of the torch bearers of Guru Debaprasad style, received her early tutelage from Dr (Smt) Bidyutlata Choudhury before perfecting her skills under the watchful eyes of Guru Debaprasad Das himself. While she has performed at several prestigious festivals across India and in foreign lands like South Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan, she is not a stranger to awards and accolades.
An ‘A’ grade artiste of Doordarshan, New Delhi, Guru Dr (Smt) Panda has received Nalco Kharvela Samman (2020), SCART Navaratna Award (2017), Doon Kirti Samman (2011), Rajasthan Ratna Samman I((2007), Padmashree Bhikari Thakur Shikhar Samman (2006) and many more.
The evening witnessed dignitaries like special secretary, Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department, Government of Odisha, Debaprasad Dash, CSNA awardee and eminent Odissi dance Guru Dr (Smt ) Snehaprava Samantaray, eminent litterateur Gourahari Das, president of Parichay Foundation Rosalin Patasani Mishra and Dr Sushil Pattanayak who inaugurated the festival by lighting the auspicious lamp.
What followed next is the felicitation ceremony. While noted theatre personality Mihir Kumar Meher and folk artiste Chintu Prasad Nayak were honoured with Indira Kirti Samman 2025, the winners of Annandini Talabadya Sparddha competition were also felicitated with newly introduced Indira Yuva Puraskar. The awardees in senior category were Goutam Tripathy (Tabla), Sushobhit Roul (Tabla) and Arindam Sahoo (Tabla) and in junior category were Sai Deepak Mohanty (Flute), Sushen Satpathy (Flute) and Shreya Chotray (Flute). An artiste of Avantika Academy, Sai Santoshi Panda was also felicitated for bagging CCRT junior scholarship.
The cultural soiree opened with a soulful Odissi vocal recital by noted vocalist Mahapatra Minati Bhanj. She commenced her presentation with a raganga ‘Ago Ghana Kuntala’, written by Poet Benudhar, set to Raga Rageshree and Tala Ektali, followed it up with a bhabanga (Ra Champu) ‘Rasalasare Rasi Puni’, written by Kabisurya Baladev Rath. Her mellifluous voice transported the listeners to a different world.
She was ably supported by Guru Dr Jagannath Kuanr on the Mardala, Muralidhar Swain on the Harmonium and Jayaguru Pradhan on the Manjira.
Next, the art lovers were treated to a group Odissi recital by the senior artistes Avantika Academy, who presented ‘Ganesh Vandana’, choreographed by Guru Dr (Smt) Manjushree Panda, music composed by Guru Krushna Chandra Rau and rhythm by Guru Dhaneswar Swain. The artistes (Pushpanjali Pradhan, Prajna Priyadarshini Samal, Sai Santoshi Panda, Janvi Biswal, Anshika Singh, Subha Priyadarshini Pradhan, Debanshi Panda and Adwiti Mohanty) paid homage to the elephant-headed god and narrated his aspects. Their neat performance instantly earned thunderous applause.
The following item was also a group recital ‘Mangalacharan’, an invocatory item in the Odissi dance repertory, choreographed by Guru Debaprasad Das and directed by Guru Dr (Smt) Panda. The artistes (Adyasha Priyadarshini Sahoo, Payal Bhoi, Anwesha Mohapatra, Sonam Pani, Arvi Aradhya, Roshni Das, Anvika Nayak, B Devanshi, Devisha Paul and Manisha Nanda) were excellent in seamless formations and space management.
The fourth item of the evening was ‘Sthayee’, a pure dance number, choreographed by Guru Debaprasad Das and choreographed by Guru Dr (Smt) Panda, presented by artistes-Sidhisha Panda, Pratyasha Mishra, Devanshi Panda, Subha Priyadarshini Panda, Barsharani Rout and Janvi Rout.
Keeping the pace of the evening, the artistes of the host institution (Pushpanjali Pradhan, Prajna Priyadarshini Samal, Sai Santoshi Panda, Janvi Biswal and Anshika Singh) presented a Pallavi, based on Raga Kiribani and Tala Tripata, choreographed by Guru Dr (Smt) Panda, music composed by Guru Ramhari Das and rhythm by Guru Dhaneswar Swain. Their sculpturesque positions made the item enjoyable.
The sixth item of the evening was an abhinaya ‘Sarbe San No Janani’, choreographed by Guru Dr (Smt) Panda and presented by Sidhisha Panda, Pratyasha Mishra, Devanshi Panda, Subha Priyadarshini Panda and Barsharani Rout added an emotional layer to the evening.
Then came the highlight of the evening, spellbinding solo Kuchipudi dance recitals by guest artiste Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awardee T. Reddi Lakshmi, from New Delhi. While she has been a disciple of Padma Shri recipient Jayarama Rao for two decades now, she is an ‘A’ grade artiste of Doordarshan and an empaneled artiste of ICCR, SPICMACAY and IRCEN.
She has performed at several prestigious festivals across the nation and in Peru, Costa Rica, Canada, Malaysia and Bhutan and won many awards including Indira Priyadarshini Award, Nritya Jayantika, Natya Druma, Nritya Shiromani, Nritya Jyoti and Nritya Vilasini. She has also entered her name in Guinness Records by participating in Kuchipudi convention held in Hyderabad.
Her performance that bridged the realms of storytelling and artistry brilliance came as a feast for eyes trained in Odissi dance.
She opened her recital with ‘Prahlada Natakam’, a Kuchipudi Yakshaganam, set to Ragam Ragamalika and Talam Khanda Chapu, an ancient choreography with some changes by Guru Jayarama Rao, lyrics by VedachalaThiru Narayana Acharayulu and Thiruvallikeni Ramanuja Acharyulu, music by Padma Shri recipient Guru V Jayarama Rao and Satish Venkatesh.
As the subject of the item-half-man, half-lion God Narsimah comes out of a pillar, kills Hiranyakashipu and saves Prahlada-is well known, the audience didn’t have any difficulty to understand what was unfolding on the stage.
Her carefully sculpted stances and movements need special mention. But, what captivated one and all was T. Reddi Lakshmi’s effortlessly slipping into the characters of Prahlada, Hiranyakashipu and Narsimah, transitioning from one character to another.
Specially, her portrayal of the sequence of Lord Narsimah emerging from a pillar, ripping apart Hiranayakashipu’s stomach and slaying him drew gasps of awe and admiration.
She followed it up with ‘Durga Taranagam’, in Ragam Hamsadhwani and Talam Aadi, composed by Yati Narayana Thirtha, choreographed by Guru V Jayarama Rao. Her complex footwork while balancing on a brass plate left the connoisseurs stunned.
As the curtains came down, the auditorium resonated with thunderous applause — a testament to an evening where tradition met transcendence, and where art spoke the language of the soul.
The anchor of the evening was Biswajit Baliarsingh.
