Bhubaneswar, March 12: Odissi danseuse Minati Pradhan will be conferred the prestigious Mahari Award at the Guru Pankaj Utsav to be held later this week. Minati will become the 18th recipient of the award given by the Guru Pankaj Charan Odissi Research Foundation.

Instituted in the honour of Guru Pankaj Charan Das, the Mahari award is considered a big honour in the field of Odissi. Dancers such as Rupashree Mohapatra, Sujata Mohapatra, Aruna Mohanty, Aloka Kanungo, Meera Das, Kavita Dwivedi and many others have been the recipients of the award in the past. Minati is known for her technical perfection. She has performed at reputed festivals and events such as Konark Festival, Dhauli Festival, Surya Festival, Nisagandhi Festival, Youth Festival and other national and international venues.

She has been a dance teacher at the Odissi Research Centre since 1993 and is married to dancer Manoranjan Pradhan.

“I am humbled to receive the coveted award,” said the dancer.

The jury for the award included 11 members from the fields of dance and music. The award ceremony will be a part of the Guru Pankaj Utsav that will be held from March 17 to 19 at Rabindra Mandap.

Others who will be felicitated at the event are musicians Niranjan Patra, K. Ramarao, Meenakshi Behera and Arati Mishra.

“My father always promoted young talent. We also encourage solo performers. That is why a number of dance recitals by promising artistes will be showcased at the three-day Guru Pankaj Utsav,” said the late Guru Pankaj Charan Das’s son Sarat Das, who is also the director of the Guru Pankaj Charan Odissi Research Foundation.

Kaustavi Sarkar and Pompi Paul of Calcutta, Dhara Gandhi Dutta of Mumbai, Moumita Ghosh of New Delhi and Madhulita Mohapatra of Bangalore are supposed to perform at the festival.