(From top) Artistes from Jagatsinghpur perform ghata nrutya and a group from Calcutta presents contemporary dance. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, April 19: The audience got to witness both traditional and contemporary dance performances on the second day of the ongoing sixth Mahanadi festival here yesterday.

Artistes from Jagatsinghpur district performed “ghata nrutya”, one of the oldest dance forms of the state.

Dancing to the tunes of drums and cymbals, the dancers paid tribute to goddess Sarala and entertained the audiences with the famous “Mahisamardhini” act depicting the victory of good over evil.

“Ghata nrutya forms the essence of our culture and is one of the oldest dance forms prevalent here. Usually the dance form is a tribute to the goddess in which the devotees exhibit their devotion by walking on hot charcoal,” said Ramakant Roul, director of the dance troupe.

The artistes feel that their art, which was once dying a slow death, is reviving since people from across the country are appreciating their performances. “Many youngsters are keen to learn the basics of this art which will certainly help to promote the oldest dance forms in the state,” Roul said.

Apart from the ghata nrutya, contemporary dance performance by Calcutta’s Shayomita Dasgupta and group was another attraction on the second day of the Mahanadi festival being organised by Kind India Foundation.

The group presented a performance called “Harmony”, which depicted the various moods of happiness, sorrow and separation of man during the course of his life.

Seven artistes of the group, led by Shayomita Dasgupta, began with the traditional Ganesh vandana and later displayed their skills with breathtaking synchronisation along with western and Indian classical music.

“Human beings draw inspiration from nature and through our dance, which was a fusion of both Indian classical and western, we tried to showcase different situations of man in harmony with nature,” said Shayomita Dasgupta.

This was the second Dasgupta, who is an Odissi dancer, performed before a live audience in the silver city. Earlier, she had won accolades for her performance during Bali Jatra last year.

“It is a great feeling performing before the audience who understand and appreciate our art. We enjoy performing in Cuttack and will certainly come again to the city,” Dasgupta said.

Mahanadi festival is one of the biggest cultural extravaganzas of the city that provides a platform for the artistes from across the country to showcase their talent.

“Our main objective is to promote traditional dance forms that are under threat from western culture. We are happy that our efforts are being appreciated, which is reflected by the audience turnout,” said organising committee secretary Choudhry Satya Das.