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| Artistes perform a folk dance of northeast in Puri. Picture by Sarat Patra |
Bhubaneswar, Jan. 31: Octave, a grand spectacle of art, dance, music and crafts from the northeastern states came to a befitting end at Saradha Bali in Puri last evening.
Organised by the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), Calcutta, in association with the state department of tourism and culture, the festival saw about 200 artistes performing.
Octave was first hosted in 2006 in New Delhi and came to Odisha for the first time this year. Consequently, most of the participants were visiting the state for the very first time. On the inaugural day at Utkal Mandap in Bhubaneswar and the concluding day in Puri, viewers witnessed enjoyable folk and tribal dance forms. Tarun Pradhan, noted dance and drama instructor, had choreographed the concert that had various acts from the eight states intertwined.
“Languages may be different but music and rhythm are universal,” said Pradhan about the uphill task of amalgamating the diverse dance forms.
For three days, artisans had also set up their kiosks. Among others, bamboo art from Assam, decorative flowers and handbags of Nagaland and shawls of Manipur were being sold. “This is my first time in Odisha. We knew, sales would be lukewarm but it is the cultural interaction that matters,” said L.C. Sharma from Manipur who sold shawls, suits and duppatas with prices ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 700.
While the inaugural day had only folk dances lined up, the following day was dedicated to classical acts of Manipuri raas and Sattriya dance of Assam. The former embodies the rich Vaishnavite tradition with acts themed on Lord Krishna’s life and the latter’s repertoire is replete with brisk foot movements had both pure dance and dance-drama. Siblings Ranjumani and Rinjumani Saika who presented various acts of Sattriya have been performing for three-and-a-half decades now and talked about Odissi exponent Kelucharan Mohapatra.
The artists too had a field day. They could be seen portraying their imaginations on the canvas with sincerity in the evenings with visitors huddled nearby appreciating their art. Mhasiselhu Viyie, a 22-year-old student of sculpture from Nagaland had drawn two beautiful paintings using acrylic colours. While a scenery, he explained, depicted the tribal culture of the northeast, his second work of art was more personal. “I have drawn a face with its eye being the highlight. Recently, I had some sight problems and this painting is inspired from my distress,” he said.