Bhubaneswar: The penultimate evening of the 32nd Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (GKCM) Award Festival brought together the expressive world of Bharatanatyam and the melodic brilliance of flute music, offering audiences an evening of varied classical artistry Tuesday.
The event is being organised by Srjan – Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Nrityabasa in collaboration with Sri Sri University (SSU), Cuttack.
Odissi guru Dr. Snehaprava Samantray, Mardala exponent Guru Sachidananda Das, and Shri Parameswar Funkwal, General Manager, East Coast Railway were the guests of the evening. They joined Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, Director, Srjan and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Communication and Indic Studies, SSU, for the ceremonial lighting of the lamp.
The first presentation belonged to acclaimed Bharatanatyam exponent Dr. Janaki Rangarajan. Rangarajan, a disciple of Madhavi Chandrasekhar and Padma Subrahmanyam, presented Maharaja Swati Tirunal’s celebrated Pada Varnam, “Sami Ninne”, in Ragam Yadukulakambhoji and Adi Talam.
She was accompanied by Smt. Shilpa Gopalakrishnan on vocals, Smt. T.V. Sukanya on violin, Shri K. Sarvesh on mridangam and Shri S. Vijay Kumar on nattuvangam.
The second half of the evening shifted the focus from dance to instrumental music with a flute jugalbandi featuring two of Odisha’s accomplished flautists, Abhiram Nanda and Srinibas Satapathy.
Their jugalbandi opened with Raag Madhuvanti, set to Rupak Taal, allowing the two musicians to establish a measured and contemplative musical dialogue.
The performance drew its strength from the contrast between the two playing styles. The flautists moved between sustained melodic passages and intricate exchanges, creating a balance between introspection and rhythmic energy.
They later turned to Pahadi Dhun, presented in Dadra and Keherwa Taal.
Young tabla artiste Yashwant Vaishnav added further energy to the presentation, responding to the flautists with crisp rhythmic phrases and maintaining a dynamic dialogue with the melodic lines.
The festival will conclude September 9.
