Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival commences in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: After hosting the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (GKCM) Award Festival on digital platforms for two years due to the pandemic, Srjan is organizing the five-day festival at Rabindra Mandap from September 5 to September 9.

On the first day of the event, the audiences were treated to the much-awaited music performance by famed flautist Pandit Ronu Majumdar, renowned percussionist Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, and rising Tabla artiste Ishaan Ghosh. Firmly rooted in the Maihar gharana, Pandit Majumdar is constantly expanding the horizons of his music oeuvre and conducted “Venu Naad,” a concert of 5,378 flautists on one stage for the Guinness World Records.

Ace percussionist Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, the son and disciple of Tabla maestro Ustad Allarakha, is known for his distinct technique of playing the African instrument Djembe. The young and exceptionally talented Ishaan Ghosh delivered a memorable performance on the Tabla, with his unique articulations and complex rhythmic tapestries with appealing delineations materializing the vision of his father Pandit Nayan Ghosh.

The cadence and harmony of their notes mesmerized the audience, as they presented “Synthesis: A Classical Medley,” beginning with Raga Jai Jaiwanti. This track was followed by a confluence of Ragas and Talas. The evening concluded on a high, with the evocative notes of the Flute, and the rhythmic intricacies of the Djembe and Tabla, as the artistes delved into their musical repertoires, delighting the viewers.

On September 6, the event will commence with an Odissi Vocal recital by Sushree Sristi Swarupa Mishra, accompanied by Guru Dhaneswar Swain on the Mardala and Guru Ramesh Chandra Das on the Violin. Her performance will be followed by a Bharatanatyam group performance by renowned exponent Vidushi Geeta Chandran and her ensemble, the Natya Vriksha Dance Collective.

The entire festival has been curated, conceptualized, and designed by Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, with the programme execution by Debiprasad Mishra.