Bhubaneswar: The 32nd Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (GKCM) Award Festival will be held at Rabindra Mandap here from September 5 to 9, bringing together leading exponents of classical dance, music, theatre and cinema. Organised by the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Nrityabasa in collaboration with Sri Sri University, the five-day event will begin at 7 pm each day.
The event assumes significance as it coincides with the birth centenary celebrations of legendary Odissi exponent Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Curated under the guidance of Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, Director, Srjan, and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Communication and Indic Studies, Sri Sri University, the festival will also feature the presentation of the GKCM Awards 2026. Veteran artistes Sharon Lowen (Odissi dance), Keshab Chandra Rout (Odissi music), Dhirendranath Mallick (theatre) and Mahasweta Ray (cinema) will be conferred with Lifetime Achievement Awards. Each award carries Rs 1 lakh and a citation.
The GKCM Kala Samman 2026 will be conferred on violinist Agnimitra Behera and vocalist Nazia Alam. Each recipient will receive Rs 50,000 and a citation. The Yuva Pratibha Samman will recognise Odissi dancers Vrinda Chadha and Aishwariya Singhdev, Kathak dancer Nikita Banawalikar and Odissi music-Mardala artiste Soumya Ranjan Nayak. The festival will open September 5 with a Hindustani vocal recital by Shubha Mudgal.
On September 6, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar will present a sarod recital, followed by an Odissi performance by Lipsa Satapathy. On September 7, Chidksh Kallay Centre will present Saugan dhika Haranam. September 8 will feature a Bharatanatyam recital by Dr Janaki Rangarajan, followed by a flute jugalbandi by Abhiram Nanda and Srinibas Satapathy. The festival will conclude September 9 with the award ceremony and Srjan Ensemble’s presentation of Mti, choreographed by Guru Ratikant Mohapatra. Orissa POST and Dharitri are the print media partners for the festival.
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