BHUBANESWAR: Odissi exponent Padmashree Ranjana Gauhar was conferred the 11th Odissi Nrutya Sangeeta Samman at a ceremony at Odissi Research Centre auditorium here.
The award ceremony was organised by Nrutyangana, a dance academy, as a part of its two-day annual fete. "This award is not for me but for the entire artistes' fraternity. I owe this to all the dancers and musicians," said Gauhar after receiving the award.
While former chief minister Giridhar Gamang presented the award to the danseuse, among the other dignitaries present were Doordarshan Kendra Director Deepti Mishra, social activist-poet, Dr Indira Dutta, former director of ORC Sangeeta Gosain, The New Indian Express senior news editor Kasturi Ray and eminent Odissi dancers Pranati Mohanty and Itishree Dwivedy.
Director of Nrutyangana Subash Chandra Swain, an Odissi guru, has been training budding dancers for more than 11 years.