Bhubaneswar: The five-day-long 31st edition of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (GKCM) Award Festival, organized by Srjan, concluded at Rabindra Mandap here on Tuesday, celebrating dance and music.
The valedictory evening commenced with the auspicious lighting the lamp ceremony in the presence of esteemed guests and dignitaries Shri Prasanta Nanda, Former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Shri Pankaj Lochan Mohanty, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, MGM Minerals alongside Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, Director, Srjan, and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Communication and Indic Studies, SSU.
This year, Padma Shree awardee and acclaimed Odissi dancer Guru Smt. Madhavi Mudgal, and eminent Odissi vocalist and music educator Shri Alekh Chandra Samal, were conferred with the coveted Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award 2025, for their tremendous contributions to the classical art forms.
The award carries a purse of Rs 1,00,000 and a citation.
Similarly, the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Yuva Pratibha Samman 2025 went to Shatabdi Mallick (Odissi dance) and Muralidhar Swain (Odissi music), each receiving ₹25,000 and a citation.
The award is given to two remarkable performing artistes under the age of 40 years from the fields of classical dance and Odissi music.
This year, a new category- ‘Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Kala Samman’- was introduced for established performing artistes from the fields of dance, music, and theatre, between 40–55 years of age for their noteworthy contributions and continued dedication to their Art forms was introduced.
The inaugural recipients were Shri Raghunath Das and Shri Arnab Bandyopadhyay, both of whom have made a notable impact to the Odissi fraternity. They received Rs 50,000 each and a citation.
According Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, the award recognizes lacuna in recognizing those artistes who have matured into seasoned performers, teachers, and educators in their respective fields.
Following the award ceremony, the Srjan ensemble unveiled Guru Ratikant Mohapatra’s innovative choreographic work ‘Duryodhana’. This compelling production reinterprets the Mahabharata’s most complex character as a multifaceted protagonist whose admirable virtues of courage, and loyalty were overshadowed by fatal pride that became the catalyst for his demise.
With script by Pt. Nityananda Misra, music by Shri Rupak Kumar Parida, arrangement by late Shri Tarakanta Panda, narration by Shri Aditya Mahapatra, conceptualisation by Dr. Srinibas Ghatuary, narrated by Shri Aditya Mahapatra, comprehensive choreographic vision, rhythmic composition, and musical supervision by Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, the piece was brought alive by a stellar cast of Srjan dancers, leaving the connoisseurs enchanted all throughout the presentation.
The senior dancers of Srjan (Smt. Rajashri Praharaj, Aishwariya Singhdev, Preetisha Mohapatra, G. Sanjay, Madhabi Rout, Daina Ghose, Rajkumar Kar, Pallishree, Subhashree Senapati, Prachi Mohanty, and Srutijyoshna Dash) left no stone unturned to give justice to the choreography. With their agile and lithe bodies, excellent expressions and synchronization, the dancers managed to cast a spell on the audience from the very beginning.
The choreography and the presentation, complemented by exquisite light arrangement by Shri Debiprasad Mishra and Shri Dhilip Kumar, with the meticulous and professional sound engineering of Shri C Anand Krishna and Shri Bharath Krishna, received an overwhelming response.
The anchor of the evening was Dr Mrutyunjaya Rath, who kept the audience with his insightful commentary.
Photo courtesy: Srjan
