The electrified violin and veena Carnatic jugalbandi of Viswanath R.Next to speed, good themes like Ramayana, Jataya Mokshya and Sarbari reach audiences and "Maati", inspired by a poem by the iconic Odia poet Radha Mohan Gadanayak was the finale of the festival. At the same time he is very conscious of the need to be humble as he thoughtfully evolves and develops Guruji’s movements.

Longtime theater collaborator Jayadev Das suggested the poem and created the script adaptation.From a one day festival it soon expanded to five days and will next year complete 25 years as one of the most highly regarded dance and music festivals of the country. A speed of 120 to 170-180 beats per minute requires daily practice by his dancers to maintain a high performance standard and their presentations are well received wherever they perform.The Governor of Odisha, Hon. Her Odissi Ramayana, one of Kelubabu’s non Geeta Govinda tour de force choreographies is a monodrama portraying six characters: Sita, Ram, Lakshman, Maricha as the Golden Deer, Ravana and Jatayu. Ratikant feels this contemporary expression may not be purely margam but it gives a fresh, new impact, especially desired by his Bhubaneswar and Kolkata audiences who are "overdosed" on Odissi.The festival finale by Srjan dancers showcased two new choreographies by Ratikant Mohapatra.

A well conceived statement on ego and maternal sacrifice brought to life by the capable Srjan dancers who are adding a maturity of expression to their technical abilities.Ratikant has followed his father’s vision conscientiously bringing the finest artists from diverse music and dance traditions to the Bhubaneswar audiences. He exemplified this in my personal experience in 1976 when he insisted that I also perform Manipuri as part of the Kala Vikash Kendra, Cuttack summer student program. Some national festivals had great artists in their early years but eventually their selection committees were less able to discern or succumbed to other criteria for selection. Guruji was there for the first 7 years and the first awardee in 1995 was to legendary gotipua guru, Maguni Das, from his own Ragrajpur village. In particular, he even makes sure that the music college hostel students get special permission to stay late for the opportunity to see and hear arts that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. The swift movement in group solos brought home the arrogance of characters and the kaleidoscope movement effects were eye-catching. I felt unprepared after only a few years of training, but he insisted that it was important to expose the local audience to other classical traditions.  Several festivals created by dancers also have inconsistent quality as reciprocity of performance opportunities weighs against excellence. The humble Earth willingly accepts the burden of sentient beings and is declared queen of the universe after Sky, Sun, Moon, Clouds and Wind demand from the Creator ethereal space. It was lovely to see and hear an absolutely pristinely presented Jagannath Swami entrance followed by Hamsadwani Pallavi performed with flawless technique coupled with the dancer’s innate sweetness. Nityananda Misra.

Odisha being a north-south cultural bridge, audiences were equally receptive to the performing arts of Hindustani and Carnatic traditions. The Kirwani Madhurima is a music composition by Dr. Petite, yet able to command the space with well balanced dynamics, Rajashri used energy with nuances that nicely combined lyricism and power. The pure Odia vocal and instrumental support made for a perfect festival curtain raiser.In his own choreography as well as in festival planning, Ratikant is clearly focused on reaching a general audience without going outside the classical frame.Srjan presentations bookmarked the festival, opening with Rajashri Praharaj’s well crafted traditional Odissi solo presentation. Rajashri’s well etched interpretation demonstrated a command and confidence in solo abhinaya.It was a pleasure to see the impact of the quite evocative mardala and music score and choreography to richly capture and express the various moods and characters, from clever rhythmic variations of the golden deer to Ravana’s muscular efforts. The experimental element is bringing into Odissi Natya Shasta karnanas previously unused by creating the movements between the still points seen in sculptures and performed only by hands or legs while seated. Ganeshi Lal, inaugurated the festival with extremely apt remarks on the compassionate role of the guru to take the disciple beyond mundane concerns by unveiling how the sharing of music and dance in performance can merge human and cosmic consciousness. Vizarsu Balasubramanium with percussion transposed to Odia mardala and the Telegu text re-scripted by Pt.

The focus on promoting arts from around the country and honoring artists was a deep and consistent passion of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.Maintaining consistently high standards of performances in this annual festival over more than two decades is noteworthy.It is easy to imagine Guru Kelucharan Shower Chairs Manufacturers Mohapatras pride and satisfaction on the occasion of his son Ratikants successful organizing of the 24th year of the OMG Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival. The multi-faceted Laxmikant Palit’s Odissi and Hindustani mixed music composition followed the scripting, with the vocal playing with the Maati pronunciation to convey both Earth and Mother. . Clearly the OMG GKMA Festival time after time offers only the best performances as Ratikant is not only a dancer/musician/choreographer with discernment in selection, but his Srjan Dance Company is a popular success on its own terms. To do so he has concluded that speed and theme are what will successfully entertain 80% of the audience, with the 20% cognizati already inclined to enjoy