Konark dance and music festival a divine romance

The land of the world-famous Sun Temple and the magnificent Chandrabhaga beach lures discerning tourists with another attraction. No points for guessing we are talking of the Konark Dance & Music festival an annual feature at the Konark temple. 

The festival, a brainchild of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan provides an ideal treat for the art connoisseurs as well as a platform to the well known as well as emerging artists to showcase their talents.

For three days, dancers, Gurus, vocalists, musicians, students, critics along general art lovers converge here to see, listen and interact with each other. People wait with eager anticipation for the evenings to unfold when the festival’s open-air stage would create a divine atmosphere.

The stage becomes a perfect setting for mesmerizing performances with stars twinkling, magnificent sculptures on the temple wall and huge trees all around. This year the festival promises to be the right mix of music and dance recitals. In the dance, section effort is made to incorporate classical, semi-classical and folk dance styles. So with Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Odissi, you can also look forward to Manipuri, Chhau, Gotipua, and Rapa. You can look forward to feasting on some great dance exponents from around the globe. Kathak exponent Guru Gitanjali Lal, Manipuri dancer Baisali Basu Sarkar. Odissi dancer Jyoti Rout of USA, Mayurbhanj Chhau artiste Trilochan Mohanta is all expected to perform. The dance troupes include Kathak Kendra New Delhi, Chhau troupe from Baripada, Konark Natya Mandap, Sridevi Nrityalaya from Chennai, etc

In the musical section, the luminaries include flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia, Odissi vocalist Dhiraj Mohapatra, Sarod exponent Abhjit Ghose.

Konark Natya Mandap the organizers of the festival made a humble beginning in the year 1986, under Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, himself an acclaimed Odissi Dance Guru and Mardal player of international fame with the idea to promote the rich traditional Orissan cultural value and a vibrant Konark. The festival is organized in collaboration with Orissa Tourism Development Corporation and East Zonal Cultural Centre, Kolkata.

They're also good numbers of the budget, as well as luxury Hotels in Puri located near the temple, provides all the comforts and luxuries at best price tags. The travelers can also avail of Puri Tour Packages which include a stay at one of the finest hotels in puri, a platter of meals and cab service to commute within the precincts of the region.