Kathak @ Konark Festival

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