Konark: The five-day long 31st edition of Konark Festival started at the open air auditorium with the architectural marvel Sun Temple forming the backdrop on December 1 came to an end on Saturday.
After the customary lighting the auspicious lamp ceremony, artistes of two classical dance styles- Odissi and Kathak left the dance connoisseurs engaged all throughout the evening.
The senior artistes from GKCM Odissi Research Centre came up on the stage with ‘Mangalacharan’ dedicated to Lord Surya Deva, the presiding deity in the temple at Konark. It was followed by ‘Shankaravarana Pallavi’ on the compositions of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Guru Bhubaneswar Mishra. The dancers ticked all the boxes in this pure dance item. They concluded their presentation with the enactment of ‘Krushna Gatha’ on the popular lyrics of Odia medieval poets exhibiting love between Krishna, Radha and Gopis.
The Kathak classical recital commenced with Ganesh Stuti depicting love as devotion. The artistes from Drishtikon repertory presented Utsav love as celebration depicting purity in movement and rhythm. The next item was ‘Kathak Triveni’ where the dancers were excellent in using the whole stage space depicting well-knit synchronisation. The concluding item was ‘Changing landscape – Love as Passion’. Love as a life force got rhythmically recited on the stage, giving the aaudience a pleasant experience.
The evening’s programme started with the ceremonial lamp lighting by J. P. Panigrahi, Minister Tourism; Tusarkanti Behera, Minister Sports and Youth Services; Bishnupada Sethi, Principal Secretary, Odia Language, Literature and Culture; Vishal Kumar Dev, Secretary, Tourism and Sachin Ramachandra Jadhav, Director Tourism.
Dr Mrutyunjaya Rath and Samhati Pani compared the programme.
The International Sand Art Festival started along with the Konark Festival at iconic Chandrabhaga Beach also concluded Saturday. As many as 70 sand artistes from Odisha and other states like Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
Officers from the Department of Tourism, Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy and GKCM Odissi Research Centre were instrumental in making the festival a successful one.
By kalasanskruti
Photo courtesy: Odisha Tourism
