BHUBANESWAR: The famous Konark Festival will have a zing to it this year with a host of new attractions planned by the Tourism Department.
Primarily a festival of classical dance forms, Konark Festival, 2010 is being dedicated to the noted Odissi exponent Guru Gangadhar Pradhan who passed away earlier this year.
Held against the backdrop of the majestic Sun Temple, the festival will kick off on December 1 and continue till December 5.
The hosts have planned it in such a manner that dance festival showcases some of the best in the business. Prof. CV Chandrasekhar and Group from Chennai will present Bharatanatyam on the first day, while Gopika Verma will perform Mohiniattam the following day. They have never performed in the State.
“We have structured the festival in such a manner that daily, there will be presentation of Odissi dance along with another Indian classical form,” Ashok Kumar Tripathy, Principal Secretary in the Tourism Department, told mediapersons here today.
While there will be performances by Guru Ganjendra Panda and Group, Guru Niranjan Rout, Dona Ganguly and Group and Odissi Research Centre to showcase Odissi, there will simultaneous presentations of Kuchipudi by Sailaja and Group, Bimbavati Devi and Group (Manipuri) and Pandit Nirju Maharaj (Kathak).
That will not be all. For the first time, there will be “jugalbandi,” a classical dance presentations which will see painters depicting it on their canvas making a theme. According to Tripathy, a group led by Baladeva Maharatha will take the day’s presentation and paint as the performances go on.
There will also be an artist camp involving 25 members and a sand art exhibition. The sand art exhibition will have no specific theme. It will be open.
Like it has tried with Mukteswar Dance Festival, the Department also had plans for live telecast. However, it has managed a deferred live coverage by Doordarshan a day later given the financial constraints.
“We are making widespread publicity so that it gets on the world map. We also hope to attract more foreign visitors to the festival,” said Tripathy.
The Department plans to make some changes in planning of the festival from next year. The process is likely to begin eight to 10 months in advance so as to draw more visitors, preferably from overseas.