Bhubaneswar: Every year, Dr Dibakar Mishra Gandharva Kala Festival, organized by Gandharva Kala Parishad, brings something unique to its audience.
This year’s 52nd edition was no different. This year, the organisers struck gold with a refreshing concept — four duet performances by artistes bound not just by dance, but also by family ties.
The idea struck a chord instantly with the audience at Utkal Rangamanch auditorium, which came alive as rasikas and culture enthusiasts started arriving after sunset.
The evening was formally inaugurated with lighting the ceremonial lamp by eminent filmmaker Padma Shri Sisir Mishra (known for Bheegi Palkein, Billoo Baadshaah, Samay Bada Balaban, Ei Ama Sansara etc.) and his wife Kadambini Mishra. They were joined on the dais by Gandharva Kala Parishad president Dr Sangeeta Gosain, secretary Guru Gayatri Mishra — daughter of Dr Dibakar Mishra — and festival director Sanjay Kumar Bhatt.
The cultural evening got off to a fine start by eight well-trained artistes of host institution (Itishree Panda, Suryakanti Sahoo, Sanjana Swarupa Singh, Bhumi Bhadra, Shrusti Mohanty, Sweta Prajna Nayak, Anvi Rath and Saini Sulabha Panigrahi). They presented ‘Laxmi Stutee’. Choreographed by Guru Pravat Kumar Swain, the performance opaiunted a vivid picture of Goddess Laxmi in all her splendour, leaving the audience spellbound and making their guru Smt Gayatri Mishra proud.
The first duo of the four duets by dancers bound by family ties was Guru Smt Madhusmita Mohanty, a Bismillah Khan Yuva Purashkar recipient, and Tanisha Jena. They are mother and daughter. They presented an abhinaya ‘Madhurastaka’, penned by 16th century Bhakti saint Vallabhacharya, choreographed by Adiguru Pankaj Charan Das, music composed by Sangeet Sudhakar Balakrushna Das and later rearranged by Padma Shri Guru Aruna Mohanty.
Here, they brought alive the divine charm of Lord Krishna with effortless ease, leaving the audience captivated.
Next in line were Guru Dushmanta Maharana and his wife Tagari Gain who brought the house down with their captivating abhinaya performance ‘Durga’. Choreographed by Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and music composed by Pandit Bhubaneswar Mishra, here they brought alive the might of Goddess Durga with their brilliant sense of rhythm, body movements and facial expressions.
Sibling duo Guru Sanjay Kumar Behera and Sushree Gitanjali Behera kept the momentum going with Sabhinaya Pallavi. Trained under Guru Ratikanta Mohapatra and guru Sujata Mohapatra, the duo presented a polish presentation which commenced with a Pallavi based on Raga Megh and concluded with an abhinaya ‘Shantakaram…’. Their presentation was characterized by neat and precise.
The fourth and last duet of the evening featured Sushree Maheswari Pradhan and Sushree Meghambari Pradhan, daughters and disciples of Guru Muktilata Pal. Graded artistes of Doordarshan, they presented ‘Madan Mohan Ashtakam’, choreographed by Guru Muktilata Pal, music composed by Guru Swapneswar Chakraborty and rhythm by Guru Satchidananda Das.
The dancers with carefully crafted poses weaved a visual imagery of Lord Krishna’s divine beauty, creating a magical spell on the audience.
The spotlight was then shifted to a group Odissi recital by ten dancers of the host institution. Their presentation was an abhinaya ‘Matangi’, invoking Goddess ‘Matangi’, the Tantric form of Goddess Saraswati and one of the ten Mahavidyas. The iconography of the goddess they created on the stage lifted the atmosphere by several notches. The dancers were Utkal Keshari Das, Sriprasad Gouda, Kumar Bijendranath, Geetanjali Behera and Sanjana Swarupa.
The evening concluded on a high note as the artistes of the institution presented a vibrant Sambalpuri folk dance, leaving all in the auditorium tapping their feet and swaying to the infectious beats. The dancers were Shrusti Mohanty, Shwetaprajna Nayak, Saini Sulabha Panigrahi, Anvi Rath and Priyanshi Padhi.
The programme was seamlessly compered by Dr Mrutyunjay Rath.
