Bhubaneswar: The stage is all set for the two-day 52nd Dr Dibakar Mishra Gandharva Kala Festival starting May 23 at Utkal Rangamanch, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre, Bhubaneswar.
The festival promises to be a treat for art connoisseurs, with performances that are sure to leave the audience asking for more.
Organised by Gandharba Kala Parishad — one of Odisha’s premier Odissi dance institutions founded by visionary Dr Dibakar Mishra in 1974 — the festival continues to carry forward the rich legacy under the stewardship of his daughter Guru Smt Gayatri Mishra.
Over the decades, the institution has only gone from strength to strength, nurturing talent not just in Odissi dance, but also in music, acting, literature and fine arts. The main objective of the festival is to provide a launch pad for up and coming artistes while also giving rasikas a chance to witness established artistes share the spotlight.
This year too, the line-up reads like a cultural feast, promising to leave audiences hooked to their seats from curtain rise to curtain fall.
The highlight of the opening evening is four duet items by dancers who are bound not just by art, but by family ties as well. The first duet item will be by Guru Smt Madhusmita Mohanty and Sushree Tanisha Jena. They have mother-daughter relationship. Similarly, the second item will be presented by Guru Dushmanta Maharana and Guru Tagari Gain of Dhrubatara Dance Academy. They are husband and wife.
Adding another personal touch to the evening, siblings Sanjay Kumar Behera and Sushree Gitanjali Behera will present the third duet, while Guru Smt Maheswari Pradhan and her sister Sushree Meghambari Pradhan will round off the segment with the fourth performance.
Apart from these heartwarming collaborations, the evening also has several scintillating performances lined up, ensuring that art lovers will remain glued to their seats. They include ‘Laxmi Stutee’, a new choreography and ‘Matangi’, an abhinaya, by the institution’s well-trained dancers.
The second evening promises to keep the momentum going with an equally bouquet of mesmerising performances. Amon the star attractions are Guru Pravat Kumar Swain, founder of Nrutya Naivedya, Guru Smt Gayatri Mishra, first transgender Odissi dancer Chinmayee Tripathy and Smt Swati Shrotoswini Singh, a disciple of Padma Shri Guru Kumkum Mohanty and Sushree Suryakanti Sahoo, a disciple of Guru Smt Gayatri Mishra.
With tradition, talent and togetherness sharing the same stage, this year’s Gandharva Kala Festival is poised to hit all the right notes under the able guidance of the institution’s president Dr Sangeeta Gosain and Sanjay Kumar Bhatt, the main force behind the festival.
