Manipuri dance was the highlight of the second evening of Konark Festival, Shashiprabha Tiwari, Bhubaneswar.

Manipuri dance was the highlight of the second evening of Konark Festival, Shashiprabha Tiwari, Bhubaneswar.

Indian music and dance have a long and deep interrelationship. Looking at them from a historical or practical perspective is like studying the history of a century. Every artist contributes to the ocean of art with his craft. Time remembers some lucky artists and some artists fade away in the sands of time. Arts are our self-earned democracy, where the audience learns fearlessness when they are influenced by them.

A similar feeling was had while watching the Manipuri and Odissi dance performances on the second evening of Konark Festival 2024.

On the second evening of the festival on 2 December 2024, Manipuri dance style dancer Preeti Patel and fellow artists presented the dance composition Nachom Lee. In this dance composition, the importance of flowers in Manipur’s culture has been depicted. Delicate flowers are the carriers of emotions, purity, beauty, fragrance and colour. Flowers are loved by the gods. Flowers carry the natural beauty of nature.

In Manipuri culture, lotus flowers are a symbol of devotion. It is offered to Radha-Krishna during the Sankirtan festival. Purple orchid flowers are a symbol of love, beauty and power. It is offered to pay respect to Lord Shiva for his bravery and sacrifice. The golden orchid is a symbol of purity, patience and perseverance.

It is offered to kings and warriors. White orchids are considered a symbol of spiritual perfection, peace and tolerance. These are the feelings that Manipuri dancer Preeti Patel and her fellow artists have incorporated in this dance composition.In this he had special support from S Karuna Devi and Imocha Singh.

The singing of child artist Gundebi at the beginning and end of the dance composition Nachom Lee particularly attracted the audience. Gundebi sang the song ‘Malbaisu Aidisu Kendani’ in a soulful manner at the end of the performance, giving the message of peace and harmony to the world. During this presentation, a brief depiction of the Raas dance of Sri Krishna and Radha through the compositions ‘Gajagamini Chandrabadni Prematarangi Hansini‘ and ‘Anantashaayi Komla Srihari‘ was also appropriate to the occasion.

In this, various dimensions of Manipuri dance style- Pungcholam, Chali, Jagoi, Abhinaya and Huyan Langlon were presented in a charming manner. The use of Utpralavan and Bhramari in the sequence of Gop Raas and Uddhat Akanba was effective. The second presentation was a description of the importance and effect of colours in Odissi dance. The artists of Shinjan Nrityalaya presented Vande Mataram. It was based on the immortal composition of poet Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Vande Mataram.

In this, the country’s valor, integrity, diversity, unity and prosperity were displayed through the three colors of the tricolor. In the last presentation Surya Lavanyam, the various colors of the sun and its effect were depicted in the background of the Sun Temple. It was based on the composition of Sanskrit scholar Nityanand Mishra.

The pink colour of the rising sun and the setting sun give the message of life. During the rain, the rays of the sun are scattered into the seven colours of the rainbow. What and how these seven colours affect nature and human life was presented in the dance. The dance composition was mesmerizing. The artists of Shinjan Nrityalaya used Tribhanga and Chaak beautifully in the dance. Tara Pallavi was based on Raga Tara and Taal Malika. In this, various chaali bhed and gait were used to create captivating images. This performance was lively.

The music for these performances was composed by Himanshu Swain, Sangeeta Panda, Guru Dhaneshwar Swain and Laxmikant Palit. The dance was conceived by Aloka Kanungo. It was raining lightly in Konark on the morning of 2 December. It was cloudy. Seeing this, the artists were a little worried that it might rain! The program might get cancelled. But, as the afternoon passed, Aditya Narayan appeared in the sky.

By evening the weather became pleasant. Then, in the evening session, the artists presented their performances on the open air stage.