‘Mahuri Mahotsav’ revives dying folk art forms of Ganjam

Berhampur: The two-day ‘Mahuri Mahotsav’ captivated the audience with a range of presentations by the traditional folk artistes of Ganjam here. ‘Mahuri Mahotsav’ , held for the first time, presented the dying folk art forms of Ganjam by eight teams.

The extravaganza, which ended on Sunday, showcased the rich folk music and dance forms of Ganjam by over 200 artistes. People witnessed masterpieces which were presented by using traditional skill and expertise under one roof.

The artistes of two Danda Nata troupes (Swapneswar Natya Kala Sansad of Purushottampur and Maa Dakhina Kali Natya Sansad of Pattapur) and two Kothisala troupes (Maa Mangala Kothisala Gahani from Mundamarei and Maa Mangala Kothisala Gahani from Balakrushnapur) mesmerised the audience with their traditional art forms.

Maa Narayani Daskathia from Fulta explained the transformation of Daskathia as an art form. The artistes of Ganjam Zilla Dholia Mahasangha beat their ‘Dholas’ which reverberated in the air. The beating of ‘Mrudanga’ by the artistes from Maa Ramlingeswar Natya Kala Sansad of Odia Dhamana Sahi Ganjam filled the air with divinity. Bagha Nata (tiger dance) by an 8-year-old boy attracted everybody’s attention. Artistes from other groups performed ‘Chod Gajia’, ‘Ranapa’ and ‘Ghumra’ on the stage to loud applause.

The stage of ‘Mahuri Mahotsav’ was specially crafted depicting the traditions and installing the ‘Aagyanmala’ of ‘Budhi Thakurani,’ who is considered as the ‘Estadevi’ of Berhampur, on the stage. The ‘Aagyanmala’ was brought from the main ‘Budhi Thakurani’ temple to the venue. It was taken to the stage from the main gate with a procession with beating of drums and cymbals and blowing of conch shells and kept on the stage for two days. All the artistes, guests and festival committee members strictly followed the rules of going to the stage with bare foot as a respect to ‘Budhi Thakurani’. The cult of ‘Buddhi Thakurani’ originated along with the emergence of Berhampur town in and around 1672 AD, sources said.

Five persons were felicitated for their outstanding contributions in different fields. They include Krushnachandra Tripathy (Researcher on Culture), Anil Patra (Drama), Nelu Pradhan (transgender artiste of Danda Nata), Prakash Patnaik (Journalism) and Mihir Ranjan Tripathy (Literature).

Competition was held on events like traditional jhoti, pithau (a paste prepared by grinding the rice) and rangoli, drawing, essay, debate and Odissi and Chanda vocal competition as an initiative to propagate folk art and culture.