Bhubaneswar, March 1: The four-day musical sojourn, Odissi Sangeet Mahotsav, has witnessed musicians coming together to celebrate the age-old classical traditions of the state.
Over 500 vocalists and musicians from various parts of the country rendered a melodious classical treat to the music lovers of the city.
Hosted by the Sangeet Sudhakar Balakrushna Dash Foundation, the festival that yesterday concluded at Jaydev Bhavan here, aimed to rejuvenate the charm of the age-old Odissi music.
Solo, duet and group performances by veteran and budding artistes were featured at the festival that is in its 15th edition this year. An ensemble of various ragas and folk music marked the festival touted as an annual union of Odissi musicians.
A number of celebrated Odissi musicians such as Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja, Prafulla Kar and Raghunath Panigraphi were paid tributes by the singers. The students of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya performed on the popular songs of legendary singer Balakrushna Das.
"Odissi music has an illustrious heritage, and the state has produced a number of veteran singers, who have been quite instrumental in promoting our classical music traditions. Hence, it is an honour for us to remember those stalwarts through our performance. Moreover, we also got to interact with senior singers and harness our skills such as voice modulation," said a student from the institute.
The festival witnessed prominent names from Odisha's music circle performing classical styles of chhanda and champu. Enchanting renditions from the melodious style came to life through the songs of Minati Bhanja, Niranjan Patra, Harapriya Swain and Sangita Gosain. Odia singers Mitali Chinnara and Ramahari Das, too, performed at the event and mesmerised the crowd with their sonorous voice.
A number of songs based on intricate ragas such as Gowda, Baradi, Panchama, Dhanashri, Karnata, Bhairavi were performed. Folk music such as Dalkhai geet, Kendra geet, Jaiphula geet and Ghumura geet won the hearts of the audience. Odia bhajans were also crooned by the senior singers.
A major highlight of the festival was singers from states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bengal rendering soulful compositions from the Geeta Govinda. The vocalists enthralled audience by churning our selected verses from the Jaydev's evergreen piece of art.
The audience was also treated to the beats and thumps of the ancient instrument, mardala, the major accompaniment to Odissi music, by veteran instrumentalists. A few names to reckon with include Banamali Maharana, Dhaneswar Swain, Niranjan Patra and Sachidananda among others.
For the audience, the experience was quite melodious. "One gets to hear some rare ragas at the festival which are otherwise not often heard. Listening to the veterans is extremely enriching, but I was also quite amazed by the voice quality of the young singers. They are extremely talented and watching them perform so confidently was a treat to the senses," said a 28-year-old music lover, Shayanti Rout.
