12th edition of Odissi Music Festival enthralls audience

Cuttack: Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre under the aegis of Department of Culture presented the 12th edition of Odissi Music Festival at Saheed Bhawan in Cuttack on Thursday.

The main objective of this festival is to showcase the classical music of Odisha in national and international level.

The evening’s first programme was started with group Odissi presentation by the renowned artiste from Cuttack Biswanath Mishra and Group followed by solo Odissi vocal by Simanchal Das from Patna. The next performance was solo Odissi vocal by Binapani Nayak from Bhubaneswar. Kartik Sahoo also presented Odissi solo vocal.

The concluding item of the inaugural evening was solo Mardal play by the noted Mardala Guru Harmohan Khuntia from Cuttack. He was accompanied by Kulamani Sahoo in Harmonium and Ajay Kumar Barik in Violin. His spellbinding performance captivated the discerning Rasikas till the end.

The dignitaries who graced the occasion were Culture secretary Manoranjan Panigrahy, Culture director Amarendra Kumar Patnaik, Odissi exponent Dr. Shyamamani Devi, eminent Odissi dancer Dr. Minati Mishra, and chief executive of GKCM Odissi Research Centre Dr. Sangita Gosain.