Bhubaneswar: The state government's two-day monsoon festival that celebrates the season with cultural programmes will commence here from Tuesday at Rabindra Mandap.

The festival will bring together poets, dancers and singers who will collectively praise the season that brings rain and gaiety.

Singers such as Ramahari Das and Ira Mohanty will engage the audiences with Odissi music. Thereafter, dancers from Gunjan, a dance academy, will showcase Odissi recitals under the tutelage of Meera Das.

On the concluding evening, singer Minati Bhanja will croon various ragas of Odissi music. This will be followed by young singers performing modern Odia songs.

This will be followed by students of Aruna Mohanty's Odisha Dance Academy showcasing pure Odissi recitals, while a troupe from Bargarh will stage Sambalpuri folk dance.

An art exhibition on the theme of monsoon will also be hosted by artists of the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi.

The state government has been hosting the Grishma Utsav, Megha Utsav and Seeta Utsav during summers, monsoons and winters, respectively to promote rural artists since the past few years.

These festivals are now in their seventh year and organised by the state tourism and culture department in association with the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi and the Odisha Sahitya Akademi.

"The inaugural edition took place in Bhubaneswar. It was decided from the very beginning that these festivals would travel to different parts of the state," said tourism and culture minister Ashok Chandra Panda.

"The feedback that we have received following these festivals have been exemplary as art lovers from across the state have lauded our efforts," he added.

Earlier editions of these festivals have been hosted across the state in Daringbadi, Sambalpur, Balangir, Angul and Phulbani.