Anita Sharma performs Satriya on Friday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 5: Nothing could be a more befitting tribute to Odissi maestro Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra than organising an Indian classical dance and music festival, which started today.

Continuing as an annual affair for over a decade now, the three-day event began with an Odissi performance by Namrata Gupta. This was followed by Satriya by Anita Sharma and group from Guwahati and Rakesh Cahurasia on flute.

The Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Awards festival was inaugurated by culture minister Surya Narayan Patro and would be concluded with the presentation of awards.

Instituted in 1995 in the honour of the dance maestro, the annual award is given to artistes who have contributed to performing arts. The award is given in four fields — dance, music, theatre and cinema — all of which the guru was associated with in his long career. The award would be given in cash of Rs 25,000 in each field along with a citation for lifetime achievement.

This year, the awards would be conferred on Kumudini Devi for theatre, Nikhil Baran Sengupta for cinema, Guru Banamali Maharana for Odissi music and Guru Ramani Ranjan Jena for Odissi dance.

Karnatic saxophone rendition by M.S. Lavanya and M.S. Subbulaxmi, Bharatnatyam by Jyotsna Jagannathan and Odissi by Alok Kanungo and group have been lined up for tomorrow’s evening.