Cuttack, Jan. 17: The festival of Indian classical dance forms and music — Cuttack Mahotsav — that was on at the Kala Vikash Kendra, concluded on Sunday evening. The last two days of the event showcased some impressive performances by artistes.
Japanese artiste Momomi Aburatani regaled the crowd with a solo recital on Saturday. She performed on Hari Riha of Jaydev’s Chandan Charachita. Legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra composed music for the piece.
“It is a great feeling to perform in the city which is close to my heart. Everytime I come here I find myself in a totally different world,” said Aburatani, who has been learning Odissi for almost four years now. “I dedicate my success to my guru Bichitrananda Swain and Pavitra Kumar Pradhan,” she added.
Odissi duet by Yogini Gandhi and Prachi Dhange of Pune also was appreciated. The duo depicted the Krishna Raslila and grief of Radha after Lord Krishna touches her feet seeking forgiveness.
Besides Odissi, other renditions at the international dance and music festival were the Sattriya dance by Sangeeta Phukon of Guwahati, Kathak by Kamalika Chakraborty of Tamluk (oldest heritage city of Tamralipta, Bengal).
On Sunday, noted Odissi dancer Ileana Citarist performed on the mythological character Eklavya at the festival. Based on Sarala Das’s Mahabhatara, Citarist portrayed the pain and suffering of Jara who wanted to learn archery from Guru Dronacharya.
But Dronacharya did not accept Jara as his sishya as he belonged to the lower-caste.
Later, Jara decides to learn archery by watching Dronacharya from a distance. He also makes a statue of his guru and starts learning archery. Impressed by the devotion of Jara, who chopped off his thumb to give guru dakshina, Dronacharya conferred him with the title ‘Eklavya’.
Other performances on Sunday were solo Odissi recital by Eiko Sinohara of Japan and Bharatnatyam by artists from Bhillai. Many reputed dancers such as Ratikanta Mohapatra, Rupashree Mohapatra, Meera Das and artistes from USA, Japan, Russia and France performed during the week-long festival.
“Our effort was dedicated to preserve the guru-shishya parampara, which is the most essential feature of our tradition,” said organiser Kartik Rath.
