Rabinarayan Satpathy and his troupe perform traditional pala on the concluding evening of the Pala and Daskathia Utsav at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, July 22: The festival of traditional ballads of Odisha, Pala and Daskathia Utsav came to a close on Saturday at the Rabindra Mandap in the city.

Despite the common perception that the folk art forms are in death throes, the turn out at the festival throughout the three days has raised hope for the promotion and preservation of pala and daskathia.

Artistes from throughout the state kept the city crowd spellbound with the expertise in their craft of singing and narrating mythological stories with a moral.

After daskathia artiste Balakrushna Mishra and his troupe and Pala artistes Shantilata Sahu and Judhistir Parija won applause from the audience on the inaugural day, the following two days were also thoroughly enriching as well as entertaining.

On Friday evening, daskathia performer Sudarshan Padhi and Bhabani Shankar Dash from Hinjilikatu, Ganjam presented an episode from ancient Odia poet Sarala Das’ adaptation of the Mahabharat, the Nilendri Harana.

The artistes narrated the tale in lyrical style and illustrated aspects of human psychology as well as ancient beliefs and social structure through their performance.

Manorama Panda of Nayagarh, who is also known as ‘Gayika Priydarshini’ for her enchanting renditions of pala recited the account of a legend Naga Jyoti that highlighted the power of a woman whose integrity and faith could pacify a sage’s curse. In yet another engrossing mythological tale based on the Ramayan, Madanmohan Jena (Niali) portrayed how Lord Rama had to hold a ‘yagna’ or a fire sacrifice ceremony to get rid of his sins.

“As humans one is so trapped that even divine men commit mistakes. But the intention and situation leading to the action is significant in keeping the soul pure,” said Jena in his recital.

While all these artistes were appreciated by viewers, the concluding day had more attractions in store. The absorbing story of Sita’s swayamvara was recited in the daskathia performed by veteran artiste Rabinarayan Satpathy. Eminent female pala artiste Kumudini Patel’s Sashirekha parinaya from the Mahabharat received rave response while Laxman Charan Raut’s pala rendition of Mahadani Ajigarta composed by Bhimsen Vedapitha was also appreciated with applauses.

“This event plays a very important role in bringing back the lost popularity of pala and daskathia. The state government’s help is much needed for artistes now and this festival will help them in many ways,” said Rajat Kar, president of Nikhila Utkala Pala Gayak Sangha, who was present on the occasion.

Veteran pala artistes Ramachandra Das, Bholanath Tripathy, Ishwar Chandra Tripathy, Purnachandra Nayak, Raghunath Nathsharma and Indramani Mohanty were felicitated during the festival organised by state tourism and culture department along with Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi.