BHUBANESWAR: The 25th edition of OMC Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival will be a seven-day affair this year. The festival will feature a range of music recitals by renowned artistes of international fame and a special evening dedicated to Odissi music. Organised by Srjan, the festival will commence from September 5.
During the festival, artistes from reputed dance institutions of Odisha will present scintillating performances. The festival will also feature a special solo recital by Niharika Mohanty, a senior disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and founder-director of Guru Shradha in the USA. Five awards will be conferred on acclaimed artists for their contributions to dance, theatre, music and cinema.
The NALCO Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award, worth Rs 1,00,000, will be given to each awardee. The awards will be given to Tabla maestro Harmohan Khuntia, veteran Odissi dance Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, eminent dance critics and authors Leela Venkataraman and Sunil Kothari and art photographer Avinash Pasricha.
Besides, the NALCO Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Yuva Prativa Samman will be conferred on five exceptionally talented performing artistes under the age of 40. Each of them will receive cash prizes worth Rs 25,000 each. Swapnokalpa Dasgupta (Odissi), Rahul Acharya (Odissi), Rajashri Praharaj (Odissi), Anwesa Mahanta (Sattriya) and Satyabrata Katha (Odissi) will be honoured in this category.