Bhubaneswar, May 27: Mahari dancer duo Rupashree Mohapatra and her 10-year-old daughter Debrupa Dasgupta paid tributes to poet Jaydev and his creation Geet Govind at the Jaydev Samaroh that is on at Bhanja Kala Mandap.

The five-day event began yesterday.

One of the torchbearers of the age-old dance form, Rupashree Mohapatra, along with her daughter Debrupa, adapted the last chapter of Geet Govind in her recital titled "Kuru yadu nandana" and presented it on the opening day of the programme.

Mahari originated in the Jagannath temple in Puri as a ritual dance for the deities. Rupashree learnt the dance form from Sashimani Devi, the last devdasi of the temple who passed away recently.

With nimble steps and graceful expressions, Debrupa gave perfect company to her mother. Rupashree also incorporated Khanda Nritya into one of her recitals that described the early morning rituals of Lord Jagannath.

Rupashree wants her daughter to carry forward the legacy. "Mahari has been touted as the mother of Odissi. Very few people practise it today. So, I want my daughter to learn it well and pass it on to the next generations," she said.

The audience was charmed by the duo's performance. "The coordination between the mother and daughter was beautiful. I also liked the way they dressed themselves up with flowers," said Shantanu Nayak, a culture enthusiast who was present at the show.

Other performances of the evening included Kuchiupudi dance by P. Ramadevi, Bharatnatyam recitals by Khilleswari Patel and Tamanna Nayar. During the five-day fest, around 25 dancers from Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Guwahati and Kochi will stage recitals adapted from Geet Govind.

Apart from Odissi, a number of classical dance forms such as Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Sattriya, Kathakali, Manipuri and Mohiniattam will be presented.

The festival is being conducted by Devdasi Nrutya Mandir and National Culture Mission in appreciation of the immense contribution of the poet to the culture of the state.

The annual festival Naveen Kalakar, a talent hunt for young classical dancers, is also being hosted at the venue during the day.

The 12th annual dance festival of Nrutyanjali also began today. The two-day festival will feature Odissi dance recitals, Sambalpuri dance and Palli Nrutya.