Bhubaneswar: The 15th edition of ‘Gurushree Samman–2026’, organised by Pragnya Nrutyayan, Bhubaneswar, was held at Rabindra Mandap here on Tuesday, celebrating Odisha’s rich Odissi dance heritage and the age-old guru-shishya tradition.
Spread over two sessions, the festival featured mesmerising performances of Odissi, Sambalpuri and other traditional dance forms by the students of Pragnya Nrutyayan’s different branches, besides felicitating gurus, artistes and practitioners for their contribution to the field of dance and culture.
The highlight of the festival was the presentation of prestigious ‘Gurushree Samman 2026’.
The afternoon session was attended by Rotary District Governor Yajnasish Mohapatra, Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda, Guru Niranjan Rout and Guru Braja Kishore Mallick, social worker and MD of Baishnodevi Engineer & Consultancy Pvt Ltd, Biranchi Narayan Mishra, and founder of Kanya Ananya, Saroj Kumar Das, who inaugurated the festival by lighting the auspicious lamp.
A bouquet of captivating performances by the Odissi and Sambalpuri dance troupes of Pragnya Nrutyayan, a solo Odissi recital by Truptismita Tarini, along with a group Odissi performance by Odissi Nrutya Mandal, Cuttack left the art lovers spellbound during the afternoon session.
The evening session was equally enthralling.
The evening commenced with ‘Guru Pujan’, a ritual that Pragnya Nrutyayan has been observing since the inception of the festival.
As the screen parted, Gotipua dance maestro 83-year-old Guru Bhagirathi Mohapatra, seated on a decorated chair, came into view. Pragnya Nrutyayan’s founder Guru Swayampragnya Sahoo, accompanied by four of her disciples, then entered carrying plates with diyas. She washed his feet with water, applied Chandan tilak to his forehead, and, along with her disciples, showered flower petals on him and performed arati, seeking his blessing.
The deeply devotional ritual created an atmosphere of reverence and devotion throughout the auditorium.
The evening’s distinguished guests including Padma Shri Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, social worker and BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, human rights activist Bijay Kumar, OHPC’s HR Director Sandeep Patnaik were then invited on to the stage. They formally commenced the evening session with offering flowers at the feet of Lord Jagannath.
Then the spotlight was shifted to the felicitation ceremony. Guru Bhagirathi Mohapatra was awarded with the prestigious ‘Gurushree Samman–2026, in recognition of his decades-long dedication to the performing arts and his significant contribution to the preservation and promotion of the Gotipua and Odissi traditions.
As part of the felicitation ceremony, Guru Asish Kumar Das and Guru Smt Dipti Routray were honoured with the ‘Nrutya Saranchana Samman’, Guru Smt Punyashree Rout, Smt Truptismita Tarini, Sourav Kumar Mohanty and Miss Rohini Samal were awarded with the ‘Nrutyashree Samman’. Similarly, Manisha Maharana, Swatipriya Jena and Bidisha Priyadarshini were also felicitated with the ‘Pragya Pratibha Award–2026’ for their artistic accomplishments.
The guests appreciated Pragnya Nrutyayan’s sustained efforts to preserve and promote the guru-shishya tradition of Odissi and to provide a platform and encouragement to emerging artistes. They also wished the organization continued success.
The evening’s cultural segment got off to a fine start with Pragnya Nrutyayan’s new Odissi dance-drama, ‘Shakti Swaroopini Nari’.
Penned by Poet Kedar Mishra, conceptualised and choreographed by Guru Swayampragnya Sahoo, the production featured music composed by Guru Ramhari Das with assistance from Himanshu Sekhar Swain and rhythm composed by Guru Dhaneswar Swain and Guru Ajay Kumar Choudhury.
The production beautifully portrayed the strength, potential, talent and contribution of women to society, drawing inspiration from iconic figures like Goddess Durga, Queen of Jhansi Rani Laxmi Bai and Queen of Gondwana Rani Durgavati.
Presented by 23 female and one male artistes, the production was a visual treat. The artistes’ expressive abhinaya, synchronisation and seamless exist and entry added to the dramatic impact, earning thunderous applause from the audience.
Following the dance-drama, Guru Punyashree Rout from Chhattisgarh performed an abhinaya ‘Sakhi He…’ from Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda.
Her nuanced and graceful presentation left the audience spellbound.
The penultimate item was a duet Odissi performance by Sourav Kumar Mahanty and Rohini Samal, who presented ‘Sivardhanga Stotram’, portraying the divine unified form of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
The festival drew to a fitting close with artistes of Biswanath Sangeetalaya, Cuttack, presented ‘Namami Rama’, bringing the curtains down on a memorable celebration of dance, devotion and tradition.
Pragnya Nrutyayan expressed its gratitude to all the gurus, artistes, guests and collaborators whose participation and support contributed to the success of the festival, which saw nearly 150 artistes perform across the two sessions.
The entire programme was organised under the guidance of Gayadhar Sahu, with Smruti Ranjan Sahu and Guru Swayam Prabha Sahu extending their support in its management and coordination.The anchor of the evening was Er (Dr) Srinivas Ghatuary.
Established by Guru Swayampragnya Sahoo in 2007, Pragnya Nrutyan has gone from strength to strength and carved a niche for itself in the state’s cultural firmament. It hosts three major festivals in a year namely “Ekam International Solo Classical Dance Festival in February, Pragnya Prativa Award Ceremony in May and Gurushree Samman in August, besides conducting workshops aimed at nurturing and promoting young talent.
