Luptapraya Loka Kala Utsav [Festival of Dying Regional Arts], Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Luptapraya Loka Kala Utsav [Festival showcasing Dying Regional Arts] was organised by Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy and Department of Culture, Govt. of Odisha from 18-19 Feb 2015 at Bhanja Kala Mandap, Bhubaneswar.

A one-of-its-kind, innovative 'Music Tree', conceptualised by Mr. Rabi Ratan Sahu had been set up there. It had about 32 rare musical instruments, and looked stunningly beautiful!

Rare #music tree @ BhanjaKalaMandap #Bhubaneswar whr rare dances of #Odisha 2 b shown!Luptapraya Lokakala Utsav #ttot pic.twitter.com/D05ZHt43GG
— Amrita Sabat (@rocking_amsa) February 19, 2015

Rabi Ratan Sahu is not just a talented choreographer and dancer, but an ace researcher on Odisha's folk musical instruments and dances, especially of western Odisha region.


Another awe-inspiring fact is that he has not only conceptualised and built the tree with lot of effort, but on 18 Feb night he also had to dismantle the rare instruments from the tree and then put back all those 32 instruments on 19 Feb to awe the visitors again! He also said he has several pages of written information on each of the instruments. Read THIS for more.

Read,marvel @ rare #musical instrumnts #Odisha!Luptapraya=dances/music gettin lost slowly..dis is step 2 revive #ttot pic.twitter.com/xBdudRgNy7
— Amrita Sabat (@rocking_amsa) February 19, 2015

Total four rare dances were performed on February 19, and two musical performances were done. Each of them were completely unique and quite unbelievable, unless you see the videos for yourself!

One of the dances performed was the rare Ghatapatua Nrutya of Kanakpur, Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha by Maa Sarala Ghatapatuaa Sanskrutik Sangha, on 19 Feb.

Absolutely loved this energetic dance done in obeisance to Maa Sarala! Watch Maa Kaali, the lion and amazing stilt-balancing act on stage, egged on by metal 'Ghanta' (instruments played mostly in Eastern India's temples- big cymbals struck with wooden sticks) being beaten by dancers and big drums playing in unison!

Another dance was the Laudi Nrutya from Bhadrak district, Odisha performed by Lakhmidhar Barik and group. This had young boys portraying the ever beautiful Krishna Leela. Their elaborate pink, silver and white costumes, with lot of energetic dance done holding sticks which doubled up as flutes was indeed most rare and unlike I have ever seen. Reminded me of Garba of Gujarat, also done holding sticks, but Laudi Dance is completely different! It brings its own magic by depicting Krishna and having a totally unique approach! Watch to believe!

These unique dances of #Odisha must continue forever....let such marvellous acts never ever die...

Other ravishing two dances and musical performances, I shall present in my future posts! So watch out for more awesomeness from Odisha!

Meanwhile, especially denizens of Bhubaneswar may please be informed about glorious upcoming events at Bhanja Kala Mandap, Bhubaneswar also to be held by Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy:

1) On 21 and 22 February, 2015, Sankirtan Mahotsav will be held starting from 4 p.m.

2) On 25 and 26 February, 2015, Loka Badya and Loka Nrutya Utsav will be held after 6 p.m.

These hold promise of great evenings, in which we can feel proud of Odisha's rich heritage. Sadly, in a globalising world, such marvellous heritage is slowly dying unless the artists are encouraged to flourish by supporting them.

Programmes like these are for popularising these brilliant yet dying arts among the people. The young generation of India especially must be aware. They must have sense of pride to conserve and support these events whenever they are held, rather than thronging everyday commonplace hangouts like malls and melodies. The State governments must also hold these for more days and publicise these using press/social media/tv/radio to reach out to all people, as these are simply unmissable, unforgettable and brilliant arts.

Ending on a note of suspense....can you guess what kind of dance this is?! Write your thoughts in comments section! :)

Guess what special dance this is?! It is from Badakodanda, Ganjam, Odisha! More on it in upcoming blogposts! :)