The second evening of the Konark Festival of classical dance witnessed ‘pure dance’ in Mohiniattam and ‘Abhinaya’ in Odishi style.
Renowned danseuse of Mohiniattam, Nina Prasad and group presented ‘Margam’ which bore a blend of tradition and modernity. The artistes began with ‘Cholkettu’, the syllables of the percussion in tune where the dancers exhibited pure dance with an humble prostrations to ‘Guru’. Based on Rag ‘Hansadhwani’ and Taal ‘Khanda Jati Triputa’, the pure dance was followed by ‘Stava Varnam’, a composition of Maharaja Swati Tirunal in praise of lord Ram who demolishes all enemies.
The concluding item in Mohiniattam was ‘Thillana’ based on Rag-’Thilang’ and ‘Roopak’ Talam’ with ‘Parijata Prapti’. The choreography presented how ‘Rukmuni’’ was gifted with Parijat.
The second phase dance was Odishi Abhinaya by the artistes of Gunjan Dance Academy on the choreography of Guru Meera Das. They staged ‘Jagannatha Mangalam,’ an invocatory item specially taken from Shree Jagannath Pahandi Yatra and dedicated to the presiding deity lord Jagannath. This was followed by ‘Konark Pratima,’ a pure dance recital carefully crafted to replicate the sculpture found in the famous Sun Temple of Konark. The concluding piece was an Abhinaya ‘Jeebana Sangeeta’ based on the celebrated poem, Yatra Sangeeta by Odia poet Baikunthanath Pattanaik. The song presenting divine grace of almighty with the tinge of faith and surrender of the devotees found vivid expression through the life of three woman characters- Draupadi, Radha and Meera.