New Delhi: The three-day long ‘Anand Utsav’ at Triveni Kala Sangam here came to an end March 25.
The concluding evening’s first performer was Nitya Pant. This svelte dancer’s claim to fame is her facial expressions. She presented Dashavatar from Jayadeva’s Geeta Govinda, choreographed by Guru Mayadhar Raut. Her delineation of ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu was a visual treat to both trained and untrained eyes.
It was followed by a Tandava piece by the young and dynamic dancer Ankita Nayak. She presented ‘Jago Maheshwar’, one of the master compositions of Guru Mayadhar Raut. And she did justice to it as well. Expressing the rhythmic aspects of Tandav, she enjoyed her performance from beginning to end, coaxing the audience not to get distracted. The beauty of this choreography is that Guruji has incorporated numerous Tandava poses from Shiva temples like the Chidambaram, Lingaraj, Pashupatinath and others spread all over India and Nepal in this piece. Another striking aspect of the item is that stories from Shiv Puran are interwoven into the Sanchari Bhava of the song.
The last item of the concluding evening was a stellar Odissi performance by Lucky Mohanty. His presentation of Durga Stuti, another masterpiece composition of Guru Mayadhar Raut, cast a wonderful spell on the audience. Born out of holy fire, Durga is blessed by Brahma,Vishnu and Maheshwara. She is the SHAKTI who combats evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity and Dharma. Once again Lucky exhibited his expertise in technique, captivating the art connoisseurs to the hilt.
The festival was curated by the dance exponent Madhumita Raut as a tribute to her father, the living legend Padmashri Guru Mayadhar Raut on his 90th birthday.
By kalasanskruti
Photo courtesy: JAYANTIKA
