Bhubaneswar:The three-day long Odissi Festival at the magnificent Mukteswar Temple came to an end on January 16.
With the customary lighting of auspicious lamp by Minister, Odia Language, Literature and Culture and Tourism Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, chairperson, OTDC Ltd, Shreemaye Mishra and other guests, the cultural evening began with a chorus in honour of Lord Shiva eulogizing the glory of Lord Shiva. It was presented by eminent music director Guru Srinibas Satapathy and his group.
Following the tradition, the first item was a solo Odissi dance recital. Renowned Odissi hearing impaired danseuse Sonali Mohapatra came onto the stage, leaving the dance connoisseurs and common audience engaged all throughout her performance. She began her performance with a Mangalacharan ‘Shiva’, followed by an abhinaya ‘Sajani Go Najani Pirati Jaha Kali’. The item was choreographed by Durga Charan Ranbir and music composition by Sukanta Kumar Kundu. Her last item was Pallavi – Raga Saranga choreography by herself and music composition by Guru Nirmal Kumar Mohapatra.
Her claims to fame are her lyrical body movements, facial expressions and intricate foot movements.
The following item was a duet presentation by Sripunya Mohanty and Pratap Barik. They presented a Pallavi, based on raga Nagoballi. They did justice to the choreography by Guru Aruna Mohanty.
Next they presented an abhinaya ‘Su Mukha Gunakeshi’ choreographed by Guru Aruna Mohanty and music composition by Guru Dhaneswar Swain.
The concluding item of the concluding evening was a group Odissi presentation by Jyotsnarani Sahoo and Group of Soor Mandir, Cuttack. Their first item was Vandana ‘Shivamaya’, followed by Geetabhinay ‘Rasanuraga’ and last item was sudha nrutya ‘Keerti Kalabati’ choreographed by Guru Dr. Jyotsnarani Sahoo and music composition by Guru Swapneswar Chakraborty.
One thing to be mentioned here that Debi Prasad Mishra’s light design made a huge difference, making the performances enjoyable.
Srinivas Ghatuari and Sanhati Pani, as they are always, performed well, giving all the details of the presentations and performers.
By kalasanskruti
Photo courtesy: Odisha Tourism
