The 22nd Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Award Festival was started with great enthusiasm and excitement among the art connoisseurs thronging the Rabindra Mandap here on Monday.
The inaugural evening opened with a trio Odishi dance performance by Guru Aruna Mohanty, Meera Das and Sujata Mohapatra.
Their first item was Mangalacharan followed by Harsadwani Pallavi. The last performance by the danseuses was ‘Nari’ depicting three mythological characters, Sita, Savari and Meera. They depicted the strength of women that empower them. Vocal support of the dance piece was by Rupak Kumar Parida. Guru Ratikanta Mohapatra supported in music. Bijaya Kumar Barik supported in Mardala, Ramesh Chandra Das and Agnimitra Behera in violin, Srinivas Satapathy in flute and Ekalabya Muduli in Manjira.
The second presentation of the evening was Carnatic violin recital by A Kanyakumari. She was accompanied by TK Shekhar on Tavil, Pandit Rajendra Nakad on Tabla.
The auditorium was full with the art lovers who were deeply engrossed with the wonderful renderings in the evening.
Development Commissioner-cum Additional Chief Secretary R Balakrishnan, Culture Director Amarendra Kumar Pattnaik and Srjam Director Guru Ratikanta Mohapatra were present as guests. Srinivas Ghatuari and Najia Allam coordinated the programme.