Rath Yatra 2012: The Making

Only 5 days away from the World famous Rath Yatra (Car Festival) of Lord Jagannath, and as I visited the place, just sharing few frames from the making of the Cart for the deities and the people behind it.
For your information, the making of a Carts is not as simple as it looks but has many rituals involved.










P.S. The rituals of the making of the carts will be in another post and in detail.

Eeshwaras of Bhubaneswar

Eeshwaras of Bhubaneswar (God & Goddesses of Bhubaneswar)

Bhubaneswar, the capital of East Indian state Odisha is also known as 'Temple City'. Literally the meaning of the word Bhubaneswar os 'The adobe of Lord of the Universe', and to complement this the city got numerous century old and finely crafted masterpiece temples all around to mesmerize anyone.
Here is my attempt to show you the richness of Temple architecture and culture from my home town through my faithful lens... Stay tuned.

Dhauli Mahotsav 2011

Organized since 2003, on the foot hills of the heritage site, Dhauli, the mahotsav, has created a place for itself in the cultural map of the country. The aim in organizing this mahotsav is to keep alive the ancient Odishan culture and create awareness amongst the young generation. The objective is to preserve, promote and popularize the heritage at the national and international level. At the backdrop of Dhauli's rich historical and spiritual base, attempt is made to bring together artists of diverse discipline in the spirit of cultural solidarity. The ambiance is enchanting, performances enthralling which captivate the audiences by a true presentation of artistic excellence.

(Source: Dhauli Mahotsav Invitation card)

Harvesting Gold...

Paddy being the prime corp of Odisha, is often compared with Gold. With the start of winter months, the paddy fields start to ripe and often resembles as bright gold with the early morning Sun shine. This harvest actually fulfills the whole requirement of rice throughout the year and some extra income to the village farmers with the sell of excess and acts as the economical backbone.

This photograph is shot somewhere in Jagarsinghpur district of Odisha.

Konark Festival 2011 (Day I) Odissi

The inaugural dance on Day I of Konark Festival was by Guru Sharmila Biswas and troupe from Odissi Vision and Movement Center, Kolakata. It was a fantastic performance divided in to 4 different parts or performances. The mesmerizing hour long performance was started with Ganesh Vandana, a prayer to the elephant headed God and was followed by Gativilas, Katha Surpanakha and lastly, Murchhana.



The ambiance and stage of Konark Open Air Auditorium...

Ganesha Vandana: a prayer to the elephant headed God, the remover of all hindrances.


Gativilas: It describes the attributes of an ideal performer, comparing her gaits, stances, energies and expressions with those of different animals.

Katha Surpanakha: It portrays the many contrasting emotions that exist together in a person. In this presentation, the dancers move away from the grossness of Surpanakha's appearance and mind, and attempt to create a more convincing character.

Murchhana: This dance highlights the special features of Odissi Mridanga, and the form of Odissi dance that emerges when accompanied by it.



The troupe and Guru Sharmila Biswas after the performance...

International Sand Art Festival 2011

The famous Chandrabhaga Beach of Konark also is the venue for 2011 International Sand Art Festival. As I experienced the same by person and sharing few photographs from the event.




The star of Odisha, renowned sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik...


The crowd on Chandrabhaga Beach to experience the event...



Artist Rrmy Geerts from Holland and her creation...




Artist Sridhar Dash from Odisha, India
His theme was based on preserving the heritage.



Artist Anupam Mohanty from Odisha, India
He wanted to showcase the car festival of Lord Jagannath.



Artist Gowri M. N. from Mysore, India





And here comes my personal favorite... by Artist Jitendra Kishore Jagadev from Odisha, India
A lively presentation of Buddhism.

There were 30 participants in total and they will be changing there themes everyday for five days to be judged. These all are from the inauguration day and few more will follow soon.

Konark Festival 2011 Inaugurated

Konark Festival, the annual classical dance festival has its reputation beyond the world. Performances by the celebrity classical dancers around India every year in the Open Air Theater in Konark has its own charm with the infamous 'Sun Temple' as the back drop to the stage. This year the festival is scheduled from 1st to 5th of December.

Inauguration ceremony...


Guests of honor... and the famous Sun Temple in the back drop.


The hosts for the first evening...


Venue
Open Air Auditorium, Konark, Odisha

Dates
1st December 2011 to 5th December 2011

Konark Festival 2011

International Puri Beach Festival 2011

On the fifth evening of 17th International Puri Beach Festival, a fantastic Odishi performance by students of 'Utkal University of Culture, Odisha'.