Bhubaneswar: Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav, the festival that brings together classical, folk and martial genres of art forms on one platform, will be hosted here from February 9.

The department of tourism in association with Odisha Dance Academy, Bhubaneswar, will organise the festival, which is in its 14th edition this year.

While the Dhauli Mahotsav will witness concerts of classical and folk dance and music, the Kalinga Mahotsav will send the message of peace through performances on martial art and dance forms.

Dancer Sonal Mansingh will be conferred the Buddha Samman while the dean of Bhavan's Centre for Communication and Management, S.K. Tamotia, mardala exponent Dhaneswar Swain, scriptwriter Atulya Mahakud and Odissi costume designer Bhagirathi Das will receive the Guru Gangadhar Pradhan Smruti Samman during the festival.

This year, the contemporary dance has been introduced at the festival.

"We wanted the audience to have a different experience so we introduced the contemporary genre," tourism director Nitin Jawale said.

There will be a performance by Bangalore-based artiste Madhu Natraj and troupe at the event.

"A tribute will be paid to freedom fighter Buxi Jagabandhu, through an event tilted Mu Buxi," said Odissi exponent Aruna Mohanty.

The Dhauli festival was launched 13 years ago and was the brainchildren of Odissi dance guru Gangadhar Pradhan. Bhubaneswar-based Italian Odissi dancer Ileana Citaristi came up with the idea of Kalinga Mahotsav as an exclusive martial arts festival.

Later, the department of tourism of Odisha brought both festivals together renaming it as the Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav nine years ago.

Manipuri dancer Priti Patel and her students will dedicate their performance to rivers of India at the festival. The artiste will try to exemplify the harmony of rivers through graceful dance movements. This apart, theatre lovers of the city will get the opportunity of enjoy multilingual plays at the 20th Kalinga Natya Mahotsav, which began on Sunday at Rabindra Mandap here. Plays will be staged in Hindi, Bengali and Odia at the festival.