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Bhubaneswar, August 23: A three-day pala and daskathia mahotsav is to begin August 26 at Kalabikash Kendra, Cuttack.
Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi, which is organising the event, announced this at a press conference Tuesday. Artistes from different districts will participate in the event and present the traditional stories and some poems by writers of renown.
According to the organisers, six groups of pala artistes and four groups of daskathia artistes from Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Jajpur and other parts of the state are participating in the event.
Dhirendra Nath Mallick, the secretary of the akademi, said: “We are organising the event to keep our age-old tradition alive. It is an attempt to preserve the art form and the artists who are associated with it.
“The artists who are going to participate in this programme will present tales from the Ramayana and Mahabharata besides poems by renowned artists.”
Three pala and daskathia artistes are to be honoured at the event for their contribution to sustaining the art form. “We are going to felicitate Sudarshan Mohapatra, Duryadhan Parija and Madan Mohan Jena for their contributions,” the secretary said.
Guru Ramahari Das, who was present at the press meet, said: “Pala and daskathia used to be the primary form of entertainment available for people attending temple festivals. But now these art forms are disappearing from festival grounds and the artistes performing these are facing the tough task of survival. Every pala and daskathia artist today needs support. Such events will help them re-establish their connection with people and also popularise the art form,” Ramahari, said.
