Anoop Jalota performs at Tumari Smrutire to mark the 69th birth anniversary of Sanjukta Panigrahi at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 26: A two-day festival, Tumari Smrutire, organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of revered Odissi dancer Sanjukta Panigrahi concluded at Rabindra Mandap on Friday.

Bhajan and ghazal singer Anoop Jalota and well-known Odissi dancers made the cultural festival dedicated to the Odissi legend a memorable affair.

The Sanjukta and Raghunath Panigrahi Cultural Heritage Foundation that has as its patrons some of the most celebrated names from the dance and music fraternity such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Birju Maharaj, Bal Muralikrishna among others, conducted the festival on the occasion of the 69th birth anniversary celebrations of Sanjukta Panigrahi. Her husband, renowned Odissi musician and chairman of the foundation, Raghunath Panigrahi shared a few nostalgic moments on the inaugural day.

Next, Anoop Jalota regaled the Temple City audience with timeless devotional songs such as Aisi laagi lagan, Jag mein sundar hain do naam and so on.

On the request of his listeners, Jalota moved on to a ghazal spree and sang classics by Jagjit Singh. He started with Singh’s composition of Baat niklegei toh phir and went on to sing Hoton se choolo tum, Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho. Memories of Sanjukta Panigrahi were refreshed when female Odissi dancers performed solo compositions to depict the divine power of a woman.

While Adyasha Mishra set the tone by showcasing a recital invoking Goddess Shakti with Maage sharana, Puspita Mishra eulogised Goddess Durga in her Durga Ashtakam. Kavita Dwivedi continued with the theme of emphasising the spiritual essence of women through her rendition of a Devi Vandana. The recitals brought back the nostalgia of Sanjukta Panigrahi’s elegance and poise in Odissi that had inspired many young females to take up the dance form.

Odissi aficionados at the event appreciated the performances.

“It is good to see that a legendary figure of Odissi has been given proper tribute. There were some good performances. But it remains to be seen if the state’s cultural department takes any initiative to conduct a prominent festival for such an immortal dancer,” said Pragyan Mishra, who was present among the audience.