Gurus Niranjan, Ramhari named for Kelucharan awards

Bhubaneswar: Guru Niranjan Rout and Guru Ramhari Das will receive the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award 2022, founded by Srjan, the Odissi dance school that Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra founded, in recognition of their invaluable contributions and lifetime achievements in the fields of Odissi dance and music, respectively.
Geetanjali Acharya and Matruprasad Das will receive the award for Odissi dance and for Odissi music respectively in honour of their devotion to their art forms and in acknowledgment of their moving performances.
The Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra (GKCM) Award Festival will be held at Rabindra Mandap here, from September 5 to 9 following a two-year break due to the Covid pandemic.
Srjan has dedicated this year’s festival in memory of the late maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj ji, the legendary doyen of Kathak and a source of endless creative inspiration in the world of classical arts, revered by artistes across the world and across generations.
This year, the programme will include a diverse confluence of music and dance performances.
The inaugural evening will feature a Hindustani Jugalbandi by Pandit Ronu Mojumdar (flute) and Ustad Taufiq Qureshi (Djembe) and following evenings will witness an Odissi vocal recitalby Sristi Swarupa Mishra and musical fusion by Shivangi Ensemble and a Carnatic vocal recital by Sikkil Gurucharan.
The concluding evening will feature award ceremony, followed by Odissi dance.