A Mardal Utsav, the first-ever exclusive festival for Odisha’s indigenous percussion instrument that has been integral to Odishi dance and music, was launched here on Wednesday as the most befitting tribute to legendary mardal maestro Banamali Maharana on his first death anniversary.

A recipient of Odisha’s Government’s highest honour for contribution to performing arts – Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Puraskar – apart from the coveted Sangeet Natak Akademi Award of the Government of India, Maharana was instrumental in establishing mardal as a classical musical instrument.

He is also known world-wide as the guru of all mardal gurus around the world. A cousin of Odissi legend Kelucharan Mohapatra, he was born in Odisha’s unique artists’ village of Raghurajpur near Puri. The festival that went on non-stop for 12 hours at Bhanja Kala Mandap, witnessed gathering of a large number of eminent musicians and dancers apart from the largest number of mardal artistes.

Led by Mardal Academy – an umbrella organization for all maradal artistes founded by Guru Banamali Maharana – several institutions and individuals engaged in teaching of music and dance like Guru Ramahari Das Odishi Gurukul staged the festival collectively.

Since its inauguration in the forenoon with a Ghanta-Mardal group recital, each mardal recital – be it solo, duet or group presentation – was followed by brief talks by a number of well-known artistes who worked with the late Guru.

Among them were mardal exponents Dhaneswar Swain and Sachidananda Das; Odishi music exponents Shyamamani Devi, Ramahari Das, Binapani Nayak, Sangita Gosain; Veena exponent K Ramarao Patra; violin exponent Ramesh Chandra Das; harmonium exponent Purusottam Parida; Odishi exponents Sudhakar Sahoo, Gobinda Pal, Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi, Aruna Mohanty, Chapala Mishra and Meenakshi Behera.

The most emotionally moving offering was from the legend’s grand-daughter Silpika Maharana, the first Odia girl to be a professional mardal player groomed by the Guru. Similarly, the most touching performance was presented by five kids of Guru Ramarhari Das Odishi Gurukul who are trained by Guru Dhaneswar Swain. The festival further featured a talk on the Odishi mardal tradition by Dhaneswar Swain and Sachidananda Das, screening of a documentary on the late maestro, exhibition of photographs on him and release of a souvenir on his life and work.

Signed by a large number of artists, a memorandum was presented to the Odisha Government through Director, Culture, Bijay Kumar Nayak who attended the festival demanding celebration of the birth anniversary of Guru Banamali Maharana by the Government.