Bhubaneswar – 09.09.2018 : The fourth evening of the OMC Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival 2018, which commenced on September 5, featured a beautiful mix of dance and music with the legendary Pt. Rajendra Gangani’s spell-binding Kathakperformance and Ambi Subramaniam’s captivating solo Violin rendition. Year-after-year, the Award Festival presents performances by both established and budding artistes that the Odisha audience has not yet witnessed, giving them the experience of witnessing an exemplary performer as well as the novelty of an upcoming star. This evening was a perfect example of that.
The evening commenced with the traditional lighting of the lamp in the presence of distinguished guests, Smt. Aruna Mohanty, eminent Odissi dancer and Secretary, Orissa Dance Academy and Odissi Dancer Smt. Pranati Mohanty.
The first performance of the evening was a solo performance by Kathak maestro Pt. Rajendra Gangani. He began his recital with Jagannatha Swami Nayana Pathagami Bhava Tume paying obeisance to Lord Jagannath. This was followed by his first main piece, Durga Stuti by Guru Gobind Singhji, portraying the power and grandeur of Goddess Durga. This was followed by a piece on the Nritta aspect of Kathak, exploring the technical intricacies of pure dance effortlessly and with absolute poise and dignity, captivating the audience. The next piece in his repertoire for the evening was an Abhinaya from Jayadeva’s Geeta Govinda, Srita Kamala Kuccha Mandala. His beautiful portrayal of this popular Ashtapadi spoke volumes about his mastery of the field. He then explored Dhrut Laya of Teen Taal and Lehras in Raag Charukeshi. The audience witnessed a rare composition with unique Uthans, Thaats and Parans. Through his innovative style and technical wizardry, Pt. Gangani presented an evening of Kathak that was truly a memorable experience for the Bhubaneswar audience. He was accompanied on a flawless orchestra by Sri Ravi Shankar Sharma on Sitar, Sri Ayyub Khan on the Sarangi, Sri Samiullah Khan on Vocals and Sri Yogesh Gangani on the Tabla.
The second performance of the evening was a classical Carnatic Violin recital by the immensely talented Ambi Subramaniam. Hailed as the new king of Indian classical violin, Ambi lived upto his reputation with a sensitive, mature and spell-binding performance. He performed pieces from a traditional Carnatic repertoire and was ably accompanied on the Mridangam by V.V. Ramanamurthy and on the Morsing by Satyasai Ghantasala. He commenced his recital with a composition by his father, the legendary Dr. L. Subramaniam in Raag Abhogi and went on to present a Pallavi in Raag Charukeshi, and concluded with a Tillana.
The concluding day of the Award Festival with feature the presentation of the NALCO Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award to Sri Lingaraj Behera and Dr. Satchi Das for their lifetime contributions to the field of Odissi Dance and Theatre respectively and the NALCO Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Yuva Prativa Samman to Sonali Mohapatra (Odissi), Subikash Mukherjee (Odissi), Swati Sinha (Kathak) and Rohan Suresh Dahale (Odissi Music) for their commendable performances in their respective fields. The evening will conclude with the much-awaited Odissi performance by the hosts, Srjan.
Prasanta Patnaik