Artistes from western Odisha perform at the Rangabati dance festival at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 29: The vibrant and energetic music and dance of western Odisha is being celebrated at the Rangabati dance festival in the capital city.

Named after the famous Sambalpuri song Rangabati Rangabati Kankalata, the three-day event depicts the authentic flavour of Sambalpuri music and dance.

Organised by the Odisha tourism and cultural department along with Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, the programme, from the very beginning displayed tremendous liveliness that even compelled the audience to tap their feet.

Noted Sambalpuri singer Dukhishyam Tripathy started the festival with devotional songs — Buli buli singh duar — penned by Chitta Ranjan Nayak.

His following rendition — Piutha tu taka taka — and his concluding song — Bhaba sindura se khadithi — written by Shripati Panigrahi, all in Sambalpuri dialect, was melodious.

Popular singers Dilip Bag and his wife Padmini Bag then took over the stage and set it on fire with some of the famous Sambalpuri songs such as — Dhubal mukhi, Turi baje rain jhin, Kalabati mara kala kajali, and Jhiki miki dui gale lal mandar.

It was not just the songs but instruments too were intrinsically Sambalpuri. The vocalists were accompanied by authentic Sambalpuri instruments such as dhol, mahuri, jhanj, nisan and tasa.

However, the simultaneous exhibition of dance and music, which is considered as the most attractive part of the western Odisha culture, was the main juncture of the festival.

Maa Samaleswari Loka Sanskriti Gabesana Kedra from Bargarh gave an outstanding performance of boisterous music blended with Indian version of tap dance.

It is never easy to play an instrument, sing and dance at the same time, but the dexterity with which these artistes performed won them wholehearted applause from the audience.

A group dance, mandal nrutya or karmasani nrutya, performed by a cultural troupe from Balangir, was another striking performance. The girls draped in red-knee length saris with their typical hairdo dancing to rhythmic tunes were a pleasant watch.

The concluding rendition of the first day was Panchadeva bandana by Dhol Mahuri Kala Parisad from Rourkela. The performers described the beautiful landscapes of western Odisha through their song. The festival will conclude on May 30 at Rabindra Mandap.