Two-day fest to celebrate 25 years

BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar-based Nupur Odissi dance institute, founded by its present director and Odissi Guru Niranjan Rout, hosted a two-day festival of Indian classical dance and music to celebrate its silver jubilee. The event that was held at Jaydev Bhawan last week featured acclaimed artistes and the performances were a treat to watch.An instrumental musical orchestra composed by eminent Odissi musician Ramahari Das and conducted by veteran percussionist Dhaneswar Swain set the pace of the inaugural evening. It was followed by an impressive solo Odissi dance recital by New Delhi-based acclaimed artiste Kabita Dwibedi who presented navarasa. An entertaining Odissi dance drama - Madhubasanta - choreographed by Nupur director Niranjan Rout and staged by his troupe was the concluding presentation of the inaugural evening.Scintillating solo Odissi recital by internationally acclaimed Sujata Mohapatra and a captivating clarinet concert by Bengaluru-based Narasimhalu Vadavati made the concluding evening memorable. Vadavati, India’s lone exponent of Hindustani clarinet, who was the last performer of the evening, hooked the listeners to their chairs for the next one and half hours. He presented raga Maru Bihag and Nat Bihag and concluded with a Meera Bhajan.