Bhubaneswar Nov. 29: President Pranab Mukherjee today said the classical arts were a link to the past, foundation of current thought and a platform for future action.
“India is one of the oldest cultural civilizations. It is, therefore, only natural that performing arts being an integral part of Indian identity and culture display amazing depth, richness and diversity developed over the several millennia,” he said while addressing the students on the golden jubilee celebrations of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya held at Utkal Mandap.
The President reached here on a two-day visit to the state today evening. The students welcomed the President with cheers and applauds, and it was an atmosphere of joy of meeting the first citizen of the country. There was equal excitement among the alumni and former and present faculty members of the college.
The Mahavidyalaya was set up in 1964 to cultivate the culture of Odisha and disseminate it through academic curriculum. The college has produced a number of actors, singers, musicians, theatre artistes, film-makers, and instrumentalists over the years. Many of its students have been awarded with Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Academy awards and State Culture awards. On this occasion, 16 illustrious people associated with the college, including Sanjukta Panigrahi, Minati Mishra, Late Pankaj Charan Das, Late Gangadhar Pradhan, Kumkum Mohanty, Ileana Citaristi, Umesh Chandra Kar, were felicitated by governor S.C. Jamir in presence of the President.
Tomorrow, the President will visit the Ramkrishna Mission at Madanpur in Kalahandi district and thereafter head for Puri to offer his prayers at the Jagannath temple. Later in the evening, he will attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the Ramadevi Women’s College.
Praising the contribution of the college to popularise the art and culture of the state, he further said performing arts traditionally found patronage under the enlightened rulers, who themselves were great exponents of music and dance and that the introduction of the modern instruments and mechanisms of communication such as gramophone, radio and cinema had further popularised classical music and dance in India.
Speaking on the state funding towards performing arts, Mukherjee said: “The government of India instituted the concept post-Independence for documenting and disseminating various classical art forms.”
Talking of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya’s successful continuation of the tradition, he said: “It is a matter of great satisfaction that the Mahavidyalaya has over the years lived up to the expectations that it had set for itself. I am confident that the great institution and its students will continue to excel in the performing arts.”
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, culture minister Ashok Panda, culture secretary Arabind Padhee and MP Prasanna Patasani were present on the occasion.
