Chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the inaugural ceremony of the college’s golden jubilee celebrations. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 30: Curtains came down on the five-day golden jubilee celebrations of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya that saw a number of cultural programmes.

On the inaugural day students, teachers and many culture enthusiasts of the state walked the streets accompanied by a number of traditional folk art groups of the state.

The procession, consisting of 1,200 people, marched from Sachivalaya Marg to Ekamra Haat and back to the college.

Donning colourful costumes and flaunting placards bearing the name of their institute, the students looked elated celebrating 50 years of the varsity.

A number of cultural personalities of the state also took part in the procession. Culture minister Ashok Panda, culture secretary Arabind Padhee, mayor Ananta Narayan Jena also marched through the city with the students.

The opening day celebrations concluded with the inauguration of the heritage gate in front of the institute by chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

An hour-long documentary on the college’s achievements was also released along with the theme song of the institute composed by musician Laxmikant Palit.

“This is an extremely proud moment for all of us. The institute has been instrumental in enhancing the performing arts culture among the younger generations of the state. And this is the time to celebrate its achievements and we are lucky that we could be a part of it,” said a student of the drama department of the institute Mohan Sairam.

A number of lecture demonstrations were conducted during the five days at Rabindra Mandap from 11am to 1pm. Odissi dancer Minati Mishra and classicist Bharat Gupt conducted lecture demonstrations.

Many other prominent cultural personalities such as Chittaranjan Jyotishi, Banamali Moharana, Umesh Chandra Kar, Gopal Chandra Panda and S.N. Pannikar engaged the students in activities that enhanced their understanding of the classical art forms of the country and the ancient piece on stagecraft Natya Shastra.

President Pranab Mukherjee visited the institute yesterday and addressed the students. He in his speech said that this institute and its proud creations (pupils) would continue to excel and maintaining the standards of performing arts. He praised Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya for its successful continuation of the rich tradition of Odisha.

“The college has been highly influential in broadening the horizon of the state’s cultural traditions and the responsibility to uphold its name rests on each and every person associated with it. Efforts are on to appoint experienced teachers. We are also focusing on sending our students to attend cultural festivals beyond the state for better exposure,” said principal of the college Tamasharani Dasmohapatra.

On the concluding day, students learnt many things about tabla and chhau dance through lecture demonstrations by Stad Sabir Khan and Guru Sadashiv Pradhan. A play named Bhanja Kabi was performed on this occasion.

Another attraction of the celebrations was an exhibition held on the college premises portraying the rich cultural traditions of the state. Around 10 kiosks were put up where rare musical instruments and various types of Odissi dance costumes and jewellery were displayed.

Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya was set up in 1964 to disseminate the culture of Odisha through academic curriculum. Since its inception, the college has produced a number of established actors, singers, musicians, theatre artistes, filmmakers and instrumentalists.

“We are lucky that we are part of this college while it is celebrating its golden jubilee. The last five days have been not only a celebration time for us but also we learnt a lot of things interacting with eminent cultural personalities of the country,” said the students.