The grace of ‘Odissi’, the grandeur of ‘Kathak’ and Assam’s ‘Bihu’ coupled with the folk forms of Odisha and Rajasthan left the audience spellbound on the first evening of the Golden Beach Festival at Chandipur-on-sea.
The inaugural evening began with the traditional ‘Odissi’ by the young artistes of ‘Jyoti Dance Academy’ followed by various programmes by local troupes, Ghumura dance by artistes from Kalahandi, Sambalpuri and Punjab’s ‘Bhangra’ dances were presented by the artistes from West Bengal.
It was ‘Kathak’, a classical dance pattern, presented by Debashish Mukherjee and his troupe, which left the huge crowd shout encore. ‘Rajasthani’ folk and Pipili’s ‘Gotipua’ too wowed the spectators of the specially designed open-air stage against the backdrop of the magnificent monuments. ‘Bhangra’ of Punjab and folk dance performances by Kolkata-based Nupur dance troupe drew more applause.
“It was a unique experience to perform at this beach festival as Chandipur has gained the status of wonder beach of the world. The audience were too ecstatic and I enjoyed performing here,” Mukherjee said. Besides the programmes by local troupes, as many as 10 dance numbers lasting for over two hours were staged by the invited cultural agencies. The festival was declared open by Minister for Tourism and Culture Maheswar Mohanty.
Vendors, buyers, visitors and tourists thronged the festival, which is a fascinating mix of trade, commerce and entertainment. This year over 80 stalls, including cuisine of different kinds, games, cultural items, food products, handicrafts, household appliances and consumer durables have been set up. The display of missile models, tanks and guns by defence establishments and South Eastern Railway also were the main attraction. A tourist from Kolkata Trisha Chakraborty said compared to the other festivals in the State and outside, the Golden Beach Festival has been a big crowd-puller.