Bhubaneswar, April 26: Odissi vocalists from all over the country have come together to celebrate the spirit of the state's classical music at an annual event that began here yesterday.
At the event, the musicians are also pressing for conferring the classical status to Odissi music and proper documentation of the traditional music form. Around 500 Odissi artistes from Odisha and the neighbouring states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are performing at the event titled Odissi Sangeet Mahotsav being hosted at Bhanja Kala Mandap here.
"Like Hindustani and Carnatic styles, Odissi music has got its distinct elements that clearly bring out its classical nature. If Odissi dance has been accepted as classical, the music accompanying it since ages is obviously classical," said singer Ramahari Das.
The annual festival, which is in its 17th edition this year, is hosted by Sangeet Sudhakar Balakrushna Dash Foundation. Artistes are performing non-stop from 10am to 10pm at the music festival.
On the inaugural day yesterday, singer and executive of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre Sangita Gosain performed renditions adapted from Jayadev's Geeta Govinda.
"The aim of the festival was to help people learn the various combinations of taal (rhythm) and laay (tempo) used in Odissi music. We are also working on hosting Odissi music festival in various parts of the country to promote the art form," she said.
Students of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya and other singers also performed today.
The singes will pay tribute to a number of celebrated Odissi musicians, such as Upendra Bhanja, Prafulla Kar and Raghunath Panigrahi.
Folk music, such as Dalkhai geet, Kendra geet, Jaiphula geet and Ghumura geet won the hearts of the audience on the first day of the festival. Odia bhajans will be crooned by a number of singers while folk music, such as Dalkhai geet, Kendra geet, Jaiphula geet and Ghumura geet would be other major highlights of the festival.
"The state has produced a number of veteran singers who have been instrumental in promoting the musical traditions of our state. Through the festival, we aim to remember those stalwarts and create a platform for veteran and upcoming artistes to meet and discuss various trends in Odissi music," said Ramahari Das, veteran musician and festival director.
All renowned artistes of the mardala - the percussion instrument for Odissi - will be seen on the stage including, the legendary Banamali Moharana, veterans Dhaneswar Swain, Sachidanand Das, Niranjan Patra and many others.
Odissi music has a rich legacy dating back to 2nd century B.C. when king Kharavela, the ruler of Odisha (Kalinga) patronised this music and dance. There are historical evidences in the form of sculptural evidences, musical instruments, singing and dancing postures of damsels in the Ranigumpha Cave in Khandagiri and Udayagiri in Bhubaneswar.
"The festival will be documented and kept at government cultural organisations for archival purposes. Most of the present musicians are themselves confused about the structure and history of Odissi music. So, it is very important that research works and books on technical and performing aspects are prepared for future generations," said singer Monalisa Satpathy.
