Dancers perform during the Pragjyoti International Dance Festival at Rabindra Bhawan on Thursday. Pictures by UB Photos

Feb. 2: The rhythmic sound of gayan-bayan reverberated in the surroundings of Rabindra Bhawan, heralding the beginning of the three-day Pragjyoti International Dance Festival today.

The performance staged by a dance troupe from the Beluguri Xatra was followed by Bharatanatyam and Kuchipidi dance performances by dancers from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha.

Assam governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik inaugurated the festival today.

The festival is being organised by Kalpa, a society for promotion of literature, art, culture and social harmony in association with The Telegraph and supported by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the directorate of cultural affairs, Assam.

The festival is being dedicated to the memory of legendary balladeer Bhupen Hazarika.

Patnaik stressed the importance of promoting the classical dance forms, as this acts as a unifying force to bring together different cultures, unique to different regions of the country.

“This is a festival of joy, fraternity and unity in diversity. Our country is known for its varied languages, religions and races. The Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Manipuri, Odissi, Kathak and Xattriya are classical dances that showcase the cultural richness of different parts of our country and all through they spread a message of unity.

“Our state is also a land of varied forms of folk dances, prominent among which is Bihu, where men and women dance with gay abandon celebrating the splendour of different seasons of the year. Xattriya and gyan-bayan are immortal creations of Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardev. Let us celebrate the cultural richness of different states through this festival and pride in the glory of the country,” Patnaik said.

“I feel overjoyed to be part of this international dance festival, which always is a great learning experience for dancers. I have been dancing Bharatanatyam for the past 14 years now and have earlier participated in such festivals. We get to learn a lot about the different classical dance forms and when we meet dancers from other states, we feel united,” Sathvikaa Shankar, a dancer from Tamil Nadu, who staged a Bharatanatyam dance today in the festival, said.

“My husband and I, Pabitra Kumar Pradhan, have been dancing Odissi for more than 20 years now and have participated in several such festivals. Each dance festival has been a learning experience for us, where we get to know about the nuances of different Indian classical dances. We are looking forward to stage a good performance during this festival,” Sridutta Bhol, an Odissi dancer from Odhisha, said.