BHUBANESWAR: Thespian Anant Mahapatra was conferred the coveted Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (GKCM) Award on the concluding day of the 29th edition of the OMC Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival here.
The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation. Mahapatra, the recipient of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Samman - 2019 and nominee of the one-time Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit - 2022, was conferred the award for his lifetime achievements and immense contribution to the field of theatre.
Apart from the GKCM award, the GKCM Yuva Prativa Samman, which focuses on reviving the all-important role of the solo artiste in the classical idiom, was presented to four exceptionally talented performing artistes under the age of 40 years. Arupa Gayatri Panda and Siddhi Waikar received the same for Odissi dance, while Vishal Krishna was honoured with the Yuva Samman for Kathak and Arup Das for Odissi music (Mardala).