Students of Nrutya Samprada (above and below) perform at a concert held at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 11: The annual concert of Nrutya Samprada, an institute founded by Guru Pankaj Charan Das, was a treat for the eyes of the audience present at Rabindra Mandap on Thursday evening.

Students of the institute paid a tribute to their adi guru through this cultural event.

All the nine performances presented on stage carried a strong semblance to the style of Odissi that was developed by the Guru.

Students of all age groups gave an entertaining performance that was received with loud claps and cheers.

The concert began with the little children performing on a bhajan, Karuna sagar prabhu he. Though there was hardly any synchronisation among the dancers, it was no doubt an engaging act. The innocence in their movements and the agility in the steps were remarkable. What was worth noticing was the discipline and dedication with which these children, mostly around the age of five, performed.

A Mangala charana on Pancha deva stuti was next in line. Performed by another group of young artistes, the act paid homage to five deities — Ganesha, Surya, Shiva, Vishnu and Devi.

Moving on from Odissi recitals, the focus of the concert shifted to Odia folk.

The song — Ei to amara sundara gaan — brought in all the flavours of a rural life, from different festivals to interesting games.

With Raja round the corner — Basante dakila gaja, barasake thare asiche raja — the popular folk song of the festival was also a part of the performance. The light entertaining renditions were then taken over by serious Odissi recitals with a pallavi.

Based on Basant raga, the students performed a Basant pallavi. Both the composition and choreography reminded of Guru Pankaj Das’ famous shankarabharana pallabi.

Starting with slow and refined steps, the dance gradually progressed to a faster pace. Students executed the beautiful choreography with perfect coordination on both the taal and laya of this intricate dance.

The concert concluded with one of the most unique and popular compositions of Guru Pankaj Das Manjari Gati Bilasa. The act depicted the movements of nature and animals such as swan, peacock, deer, butterfly and many more. The accompanying artistes, Sachikant Nayak and Rajesh Kumar Lenka on vocals, Dibakar Parida on mardala, flautist Nityananda Mahapatra, Soundarya Ranjan Ray on sitar and violinist Sitakant Barik did a commendable job.

The auditorium was full of doting parents, who were there to encourage the children to perform on stage for the first time.

“This is the first time my daughter is performing on stage and it is such a proud moment for me. My daughter simply kept staring at the mirror and adoring her new look. We had to pull her to the stage to perform,” said Punyaprabha, mother of a performer.