Jalpaiguri: The third edition of Charukarya Choreography Festival, organised by Charukriti, a premier Odissi dance and music institution in the city and founded by Guru Smt Debdatta Lahiri, at Satabarshiki Hall here ended with some scintillating Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Satrriya performances.
After the customary lighting the lamp ceremony attended by guests comprising Dr Kumar Atanu, Guru Smt. Tatini Das, poet Partha Bandopadhyay and Principal of Ashalata Vasu Vidyalaya Smt. Rakhi Sharma Aich, the much awaited cultural evening started.
The evening commenced with an Odissi dance recital ‘Durga’, presented by five disciples of Guru Smt Lahiri. While the item was choreographed by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, music composed by Pt Bhubaneswar Mishra, the group choreography was by Guru Smt. Lahiri.
The dancers’ mody movements, stage management and synchronisation were excellent.
The next item was a Bharatanatyam recital presented by Oindrila Das, a disciple and daughter of Guru Tatini Das, who came from Assam. Her presentation was a treat for both trained and untrained eyes. It is worth mentioning that Oindrila is also a well-trained Satrriya dancer.
The following item was a Kathak recital presented by Saborni Das. She performed ‘Ardhang’, an item based on ‘Ardhanariswara’ concept choreographed by Pt Birju Maharaj.
Next, Guru Smt. Lahiri came onto the stage and she presented an Odissi abhinaya ‘To Lagi Gopadanda Mana’, choreographed by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and music composed by Pt Bhubaneswar Mishra.
Her facial expressions, movements of eyes and lyrical body movements left the audience spellbound.
The following item was a group presentation of Satrriya dance by the artistes of Manjari Satrriya Dance Group from Guwahati, Assam. Their presentation was based on Rabindranritya, which instantly stroke a chord with the audience.
Then, Dripta Chakraborty came onto the stage to perform an Odissi recital ‘Jaya Bhagabati Devi’.
The seventh presentation was a Kathak recital by artistes of Shrishti School of Dance, run by renowned Kathak dancer Guru Sahelee Bose. They presented ‘Shiv Stutee’ and followed it up by ‘Dhammar’.
While the penultimate item of the evening was an Odissi dance performed on Rabindra Sangeet by Dripta Chakraborty, the evening’s concluding item was a Kathak performance on Rabindra Sangeet by the dancers of Shrishti School of Dance.
The festival came to an end with felicitation ceremony. While Kathak exponent Guru Sahelee Bose and Guru Smt. Tatini Das were the recipients of Guru Samman, Yuvakriti Samman was conferred upon Dripta Chakraborty, Oindrila Das and Tanisha Das were awarded with Navakriti Purashkar.
The guiding force behind the festival is Guru Smt. Lahiri, who started learning Odissi dance at the age of 10 from Guru Monalisha Ghosh. Thereafter, she honed her dancing skill under the watchful eyes of Guru Rina Jana. So far, she has performed at several reputed state and national level festivals and won many awards and accolades.
Photo courtesy: Charukriti
