Sambalpur: Hirakud Festival, a National Level Cultural Festival for the first time in Western Odisha begin Today
Sambalpur: The Hirakud Festival is going to start from today. For the first time, a national level cultural festival is going to be held in Western Odisha. District Collector Ananya Das informed in a press conference today that extensive preparations have been completed by the administration. Odisha Language, Literature and Culture Department has informed that the festival will be held from 17th to 19th March 2018 at Jawahar Udyan in Hirakud by Odisha Music Drama Academy. Various dance songs will be performed every evening from 7 pm to 9:30 pm The program will be organized in collaboration with Sambalpur District Culture Council and Sambalpur Metropolitan Corporation. The District Collector informed that sculptors who have received recognition at the all-India level will be included in it. Odisha Music Drama Academy Secretary Prabodh Rath and Metropolitan Corporation Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Sahu, others were present at the press conference held at the District Collector’s Conference Room this evening.
Today i.e. 17th on the first evening, Sharmila Mani from Kolkata and Odissi dance group Rama Vadyanathan and Bharatanatyam dance group from Chennai, Ranjan Kumar Sahu from Sambalpur and Sambalpuri folk dance and music group, Anup Ranjan Pandey from New Delhi and Samathan folk dance (Bastar Band) and Rayagada J. Sukant and fellow people will perform dance.
On the 18th Shoma Bhate of Pune and partner Kathak dance Jyosna Sahu of Cuttack and partner Odissi dance, Basudev Sa of Balangir and group folk dance, S. Kheerad Dora of Khemundhi Folk Art Academy Ganjam, Supdira Folk Dance, Sanjay Sharma from Jharkhand and fellow artistes will be performed.
Similarly, on the 19th and final evening, Odissi dance by Bichitrananda Swain and group from Rudraksha Foundation, Manipuri dance by Anjali Society Kolkata and Dura Manipuri by Preeti Patel and fellow artists from Move Therapy Kolkata, Folk dance by Rabindra Bagh and fellow by Maa Samalswari Fine Arts Parishad. Parimal Deb Verma of Tripura and partner will perform folk dance and Vikas Kumar Mishra of Malkangari and partner will perform Dura folk dance (marsial art). All programs will be telecast live in DD Bharati. The secretary of the academy said, “It has been informed that it is a national level event like Konark.”
