Bhubaneswar: Every year, Aradhana Nrutya Mandir, a Bhubaneswar-based Odissi dance institution, felicitates three distinguished personalities from the fields of dance, music and rhythm with the Tribidya Samman in its festival Aradhana Nrutya Utsav.
Founded 15 years ago by Guru Ranjan Kumar Nath Sharma, a disciple of Guru Bharat Charan Giri, the institution has been working for the promotion and propagation of Odissi dance while providing a vibrant platform to its students to showcase their artistic excellence. Apart from its main centre in Bhubaneswar, it has also branches in Angul, Talcher and Karanjia.
This year, it hosted the third edition of its Aradhana Nrutya Utsav at Rabindra Mandap on December 15. The festival was divided into two sessions-afternoon and evening with around 160 artistes from the institution’s branches performed in both sessions.
The evening session was graced by guests like eminent Mardala exponent Guru Dhaneswar Swain, renowned Odissi dance Guru Bharat Charan Giri and chairman of Devyug Paribar Debabrata Nayak who inaugurated the session by lighting the auspicious lamp. The institution’s president Dambarudhar Patra, vice president Akshay Parida, secretary Guru Ranjan Kumar Nath Sharma, vice secretary Aradhana Priyadarshini and treasurer Madhuchhanda Mohapatra were also present on the stage.
The inauguration ceremony was followed by felicitation ceremony. This year, Tribidya Samman was conferred upon eminent Odissi dance Guru Niranjan Rout, eminent Mardala Guru Janardan Dash and eminent Odissi vocalist Guru Bijay Kumar Jena. Similarly, this year’s recipients of ‘Shradha Samman’ were Khageswar Mohanta from Karanija, Suresh Chandra Pattnaik from Talcher, Subineya Khatei from Bhubaneswar and Anil Kumar Parikshya from Bhubaneswar.
While addressing, the guests heaped praise on Aradhana Nrutya Mandir for its unwavering commitment to nurturing Odissi dance talents and for holding a festival where its students showcase their talents. They extended their best wishes for the institution’s continued success.
A painting completion was also held during the programme and the winners were felicitated by the invited guests.
The cultural evening opened with a dance drama ‘Srikrishna’, presented by the senior dancers of the institution’s Karanjia branch. Choreographed by Guru Ranjan Kumar Nath Sharma, the production vividly portrayed Lord Krishna’s childhood pranks and divine leelas with gopikas. The dancers who left the audience spellbound with their graceful presentation were Arpita, Priti, Lopamudra Priyadarshini, Uttapanna Priyadarshini, Sanvi Soumya, Akshita, Gayatri, Priyanka Priyadarshini, Jinjasha, Jyotirmayee, Akanksha Priyadarshini, Tanushka Priyadarshini, Divyanka, Shrutirekha, Priti Pratyusha, Hemangini, Siddhi Sampurna and Suchismita Priyadarshini.
Then the dancers of Bhubaneswar branch came on to the stage to present ‘Shivasabda’. Here, the dancers narrated many facets of Lord Shiva through powerful and evocative choreography. The item was enjoyable indeed. The performers were Arpita, Shagun, Purnima, Ankita, Megha, Payal and Priyashi.
The third item of the evening ‘Gajanana’, was an invocation to Lord Ganesha presented by the dancers of the institution’s Bhubaneswar branch. With their seamless formations, they brought alive the elephant-headed god’s various aspects, leaving the audience captivated. While the item was choreographed by Guru Bharat Charan Giri and directed by Guru Ranjan Kumar Nath Sharma, the dancers were Aradhana Priyadarshini, Smrutirani Parida, Shreya S Panda, Arya Tanaya Martha, Sarmistha Pradhan and Swapnapriya Behera.
The evening concluded on a lively note with ‘Jhumar’, a folk dance performed by four moms of the institution’s students-Sephali Dash, Sasmita Mallik, Sarita Mishra and Minati Panda. Traditionally performed during the harvest season across states such as Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar, west Bengal and Chhattisgarh, the item infused the auditorium with festive fervor and drew enthusiastic applause from the audience.
The programme was seamlessly anchored by Dr Mrutyunjay Rath and Anusuya Sahoo.
