Highlighting Odisha as a land of unique art traditions, the 11th edition of the much-awaited annual JDCA (Jatin Das Centre of Art) Film Festival on Art and Artists kicked off at the IDCOl auditorium here on Friday.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the three-day event in the presence of a galaxy of celebrities from the fields of art, culture, cinema and literature from India and abroad that included iconic cultural personalities like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Raghu Rai and Sitakant Mahapatra.
“Odisha’s art and craft are the soul of its civilisation. From rock art and Pattachitra to Odishi dance and music and tribal art, each part of Odisha owns some art tradition that makes the State unique,” stated the Chief Minister. Describing the festival as a confluence of art, artists and art lovers, he thanked the hosts for making the festival a calendar event in Bhubaneswar.
JDCA founder and eminent New Delhi-based painter Jatin Das revealed that he wished to focus on his homeland of Odisha for which he decided to set up the JDCA and the upcoming museum in Bhubaneswar donating his precious personal collections made over half a century. He appeal to the people of Odisha to take an oath to use the crafts of Odisha that would help the craftsperson survive and the crafts tradition grow.
India’s former Ambassador to the US lalit Mansingh, known for his campaign for conservation and promotion of the culture of his homeland of Odisha, recalled Odisha’s ancient cultural ties with far-off lands across the seas.
Hailing his “old friend” Jatin Das as the “son of the soil”, legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan opined that the festival is “remarkable and special” as it is the only of its kind on art and artists.
“There is a significant growth in the number of audience for this festival over the years,” pointed out festival director and eminent film scholar Aruna Vasudev, who has been attending the event since its inception.
Odisha Tourism Secretary Arati Ahuja invited the delegates from outside the State and from abroad to accept the hospitality of the State Government to visit the heritage sites of the State during the festival. Among others, festival associate directors Biren Das and Siddharth Das impressed upon the Government to include the festival in its annual cultural calendar.
The star attraction of the inaugural day was India’s most-celebrated photographer Raghu Rai who screened a slide show of some of his select photographs shot nearly half a century ago. Explaining the background of each of the frames, he lucidly explained the saga of his journey as the man with a camera learning with each click.
The screening had been preceded by an interaction between Jatin das and Raghu Rai who have been very old and intimate friends. An exhibition of Raghu Rai’s books and the photography journals that he brings out has been the special attraction of the festival.
The festival opened with acclaimed Odia filmmaker Nila Mandhab Panda’s Nabakalebara, the film on the rare ritual of the Jagannath Temple of Puri.