(Top) Smitha Madhav and R Sridhar present Bharatnatyam and violin recital at Jayadev Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 8: The second season of Anand Utsav held at Jayadev Bhavan on Friday witnessed a special repertoire of Odissi compositions by violinist R. Sridhar. The cultural evening was organised by Kalingayana Touryatrikam, a dance institute in the capital.

The evening started with students of the institute pushpa abhisekha, an offering of flowers, to musician Nalli Kuppuswamy Chetty and noted Odissi dancer Laxmipriya Mohapatra.

The cultural programme began with an invocatory piece, a Guru Vandana, by 10 young dancers of the dance institute. Dressed in the traditional Odissi attires, the child artistes offered their reverence to the creators of the universe. The audience gave a miss to the lack of co-ordination and synchronisation as they adored the innocent performance of the child performers.

Another group of young dancers took over the stage to dance on Sthayee Nritya also known as Batuka Bhairava. Originally performed by the Maharis, the Sthayee Nritya is often considered one of the most complex dance forms of Odissi. The dance composition, especially when the dancers poses as musical instruments such as flute, cymbals and mardala, as seen in the carvings of Konark Temple, look beautiful on stage.

Shiva Tandav came next. The dancers’ agility and prowess made the item interesting to watch. Though there were few slip-ups, the strong theme of the dance item made the audience overlook the errors.

A dance recital by Priyadarshini Smruti Snigdha on Geeta Govinda left the viewers spellbound. She performed naga vishadhara tandav and her prowess in Odissi reflected through her postures and expressions.

Next on stage was R. Sridhar a noted violinist from New Delhi. His short, but soulful music was definitely one of the biggest highlights of the evening, along with a Bharatnatyam performance by Smitha Madhav.

Smitha has travelled across the globe to popularise and depict the rich cultural heritage of the country. Her years of dedication in the classical form reflected in all her dance moves.

Her perfection in laya, tala and expressions won her appreciations.

The students of Kalingayana Touryatrikam also danced to Kalabati Pallavi, another graceful Odissi performance.

“I loved the entire programme. It was fun to watch little girls perform on some intricate Odissi steps. I hope violinist R.Sridhar comes down to Bhubaneswar more often, as he is such a wonderful violin player,” said Barsha Swain, who was also present in the audience.