Gurgaon Kala Utsav concludes

02-04-2018

A series of recitals, which demonstrated the variety and grandeur of the classical dances of India, highlighted the conclusion of the second edition of Gurgaon Kala Utsav. The two-day event that had taken place at Sector 29's Rangabhoomi open air theatre had brought together a variety of performing as well as visual art forms including theatre and dance besides showcasing handicrafts and art work from across the country.

The festival was organised by a cultural trust based in Gurgaon city, Nritya Dhara along with ASHRAY, a twenty-seven year old non-profit body striving to make cultural promotions accessible to everyone in Delhi-NCR. Nritya Dhara has been promoting Odissi dance form since 2011 and is the brain child of Vani Madhav, a popular Odissi dancer.

The evening shows of the festival were particularly highlighted by dance performances. The most appreciated presentations came from luminaries such as Geetha Chandran, noted Bharathanatyam danseuse, SHaron Lowen, the famous Odissi performer and much popular Kuchipudi couple Bharathi and Pasumarthi Vithal. Sattriya dance performed by Bhabananda and troupe, and Sambalpuri folk dance presented by Odisha's Dhol Mahuri Kala Parishad also stole the show.

There has been many who opined that the stunning Mohiniyattam performance by Deepthi Omchery Bhalla and Jayashree Acharya's Kathak on the second night of the festival were equally appealing. GUjarathi folk dance by Chetan Jethava and group, as well as Haryanvi folk dance by Chandan Singh Nagada were also greatly extolled. Then Nutan Sirkar and Sovanabrata had enchanted the audience with their Manipuri recital.

Vani Madhav, the force behind the event claimed that the festival had a wonderful response with the number of participants having exceeded than what they had anticipated. She added that the dance masters had expressed their delight to watch the Millenium City offering space for classical dance forms as well.

Other entities that supported the Gurgaon Kala Utsav are the Union Ministry of culture, North Zone Cultural Centre, Sangeeth Natak Academy, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon and Rizwan Adatia Foundation of Mumbai, besides Odisha government's cultural department.