Bhubaneswar, July 19: The tourism department of Kerala organised a series of dance performances at a city hotel on Tuesday to promote culture tourism.

A colourful cultural collage from the God’s Own Country was presented before the city crowd to boost the tourist inflow from Odisha.

Mohiniyattam, the classical dance form of Kerala, gave the right start to the cultural extravaganza.

A group of young women performed synchronised movements. The dancers wearing kasavu — the traditional golden-bordered off-white sari of Kerala, displayed gestures or mudras with their hands. The lyrical dance form was presented on Keralaganam, a composition of renowned Malayalam poet P. Kunhiraman Nair.

Another impressive performance was the martial dance form of Kerala that was presented by two male artistes who showed brilliant footwork and co-ordination during their depiction of a duel with sword and shield. Audience appreciated the performance filled with stunts and an engrossing music, which comprised only beats on the traditional percussion instrument Chenda.

The viewers also got a chance to witness Kathakali dance, wherein the artistes dressed in colourful attires with their faces painted in layers of different hues, represented characters from the Mahabharat.

This duet dance performance revolved around the tale of the mythological warrior Karna and his mother Kunti. The mother pleaded her son to spare his brothers against whom Karna was at war.

“The performances were unique. It was interesting to see the rich heritage of dance that Kerala has,” said Varun Mishra, a spectator.

Tourism officials from Kerala said that the number of visitors from Odisha to the state of backwaters had increased over the last year.

“There has been an increase in tourist inflow from Odisha to Kerala. By coming here we have been able to spread awareness about the tourism potential that the state has. Last year we focused on health tourism, while the year before that we promoted eco-tourism. This time we are banking on culture tourism, since Kerala not only has some of the most unique festivals such as Onam, but also a plethora of music and dance,” said Anil VS, officer in-charge of Kerala tourism.

He also added that initial discussions were held between the tourism officials of the two states for construction of houseboats to float on the lakes of Odisha with the help of experts from Kerala.

“If approached formally we would be glad to extend help in the construction of houseboats here,” he added.