With a view to giving further exposure of the classical fare of the highest level, the 19th annual Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award will be held here at the Rabindra Mandap here from September 5 to 9.
The programme will be organised by Srjan (Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Nrityabasa) in collaboration with Union Ministry of Culture and the State Department of Culture.
At a Press meet here on Wednesday, Srjan Director Ratikant Mohapatra declared that Guru Shankar Behera and Guru Ghanashayam Panda would be presented with the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award along with cash prize of Rs 50,000 each for their contributions in the fields of dance and music.
He said. “With this festival, we try to give a mix of famous performers and some newcomer artists. The award is meant for the artists who have distinguished themselves in their fields in spite of financial instability and who have scanty recognition from the media and public.”
During the five-day festival, performers of various fields with different forms will display their skills. The performers include Odishi dancer Bijayini Satapathy (Bangalore), Kathak dancer Deepak Maharaj (New Delhi), sitarist Purbyan Chatterjee (Kolkata), Bharat Natyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan (New Delhi) and flute fusion player Ronu Majumdar (Mumbai).
It may be noted earlier the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award was presented to four persons in the field of dance, music, theatre and cinema. But since the last three years, the award is being presented to two exceptional individuals of these fields.