Bhubaneswar: The five-day 32nd Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (GKCM) Award Festival began at Bhubaneswar’s Rabindra Mandap Saturday, bringing together leading exponents of classical dance, music, theatre and cinema.
The festival, organised by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Nrityabasa in collaboration with Sri Sri University, will continue till September 9. The inaugural evening was attended by Indian singer and musician Anup Jalota, Sri Sri University Vice-Chancellor Tej Pratap, retired IAS officer Ashok Kumar Tripathy and MGM Group Managing Director Pankaj Lochan Mohanty as chief guests.
The festival assumes special 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 on the concluding day. Speaking on the occasion, Anup Jalota said, “Guru Kelucharan ji had always treated me as his son. My wife had also learnt from him. Guruji blessed us with his presence, and his dance gave us life and helped give Odissi recognition across the world.”
The festival opened Saturday with a Hindustani vocal recital by Shubha Mudgal, who mesmerised the audience with her performance. She was accompanied by Aneesh Pradhan on tabla and Sudhir Nayak on harmonium. Mudgal presented her two compositions in the beautiful and melodious Raag Bageshri and third in Raag Gaur Malhar before exploring the rich dimensions of Khayal, Thumri and Dadra.
The festival will feature a diverse line-up of classical dance, music and theatre performances over the next four days. Veteran artistes Sharon Lowen (Odissi dance), Keshab Chandra Rout (Odissi music), Dhirendranath Mallick (theatre) and Mahasweta Ray (cinema) will be conferred with the GKCM Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Each award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation. The GKCM Kala Samman 2026 will be presented to violinist Agnimitra Behera and vocalist Nazia Alam, with each recipient receiving 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. Orissa POST and Dharitri are the print media partners for the festival.
