Report

Angarag: First Guru Pranam Utsav

April 28, 2006

Organised by Angarag: Guru Debaprasad Dance Institute, the First Guru Pranam Utsav took place on 25th and 26th March 2006 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar. The two-day festival presented exclusively choreographed performances by internationally famed gurus and dancers. The highlights of the festival were a journal in English on Indian classical dance and the conferring of Angarag Lifetime Achievement Awards 2006.

Angarag institution of dance has recently been formed by the friends and disciples of late Odissi dance Guru Debaprasad Das to perpetuate his memory and dance style. Guru Debaprasad with his disciple Indrani Rahman took Odissi out of this country in sixties of the last century and propagated it as a viable form of classical dance all over globe. Due to his premature death, Debaprasad's contribution has remained underestimated. This institution apart from focussing on Debaprasad, will also make efforts to research into the academic aspects of Odissi dance.

On 25th March, Guru Debaprasad Dance Institute was formally installed and the inaugural issue of the journal 'Angarag: All That Visual Matters' on Performing and Visual Arts was released by Dr. Subas Pani, Chief Secretary, Government of Orissa in the presence of Leela Venkataraman, eminent dance historian and critic, Ramli Ibrahim, dancer and Artistic Director, Sutra Dance Theatre, Kuala Lumpur and Manjari Sinha, dance critic. Dr. Soubhagya Pathy, editor of Angarag, received the first copy from the chief guest.

The performances for the evening included Vedadhvani by Sukant Kundu; Odissi dance 'Nrutyanjali' performed by Rajashree Chintak Behera, choreographed by Guru Durga Charan Ranbir and presented by Nrutyayana, Bhubaneswar; Odissi dance 'Krishna Manjusa' performed by Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda and his disciples, choreographed by Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda and presented by Tridhara, Bhubaneswar.

On 26th March, the Angarag Lifetime Achievement Awards 2006 were conferred on Leela Venkataraman and Ramli Ibrahim by Ashok Kumar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in the presence of Manjari Sinha, eminent poet Dr. Sitakant Mahapatra, and eminent litterateur Prof. Deba Patnaik.

Ramli Ibrahim & Leela Venkataraman
The evening's performance included Odissi vocal by Sushmita Chintak; Odissi dance 'Angahar' performed by Gayatri Chand, choreographed by Guru Dhuleswar Behera and presented by Meera Dance Academy, Pondicherry; Odissi dance 'Rama Rupaka' performed by disciples of Guru Niranjan Raut, choreographed by Guru Niranjan Raut and presented by Nupur, Bhubaneswar.

Dr. Dinanath Pathy, eminent artist, litterateur, art historian and Chairman, Angarag: Guru Debaprasad Dance Institute, presided on both the evenings.

Angarag upholds guru sishya parampara, stylistic variations, innovations and challenges, paying homage to all the gurus and their disciples who made Odissi great. This festival was in celebration of their greatness.