A two-day Margi Festival organised by Nrutyashala Director Guru Ashok Kumar Ghisal concluded at the Rabindra Mandap here on Monday.
The ultimate evening of this classical dance event commenced with an Odissi performance by Meera Das followed with an Odissi duet recital by Ashok Ghosal and Bandita Ghosal and concluded with Srjan’s group performance ‘Ravana’.
This Odissi dance drama of Srjan, the dance school founded by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, was based on the mythological epic Ramayana. Performed at many major festivals, this Ratikant Mohapatra composition depicted compassion of Ravana, who is usually considered as a negative character and depicted as a demon in the Ramayana.
Choreographer Ratikant Mohapatra himself played the lead role of Ravana to portray the multiple facets of the King of lanka depicting him as the prime mover of the tale.
The festival featured some remarkable performances by noted Odissi dancers Sujata Mohapatra, Debashish Pattnaik and Dipti Routray. Odissi exponent Padmashree Kumkum Mohanty, State Culture Department Director Sushil Kumar Das and ICCR — Odisha Regional Director Minakshi Mishra were
present at the concluding evening.