BHUBANESWAR: The State's premiere college of performing arts, Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya (USM), is poised for a facelift in the forthcoming academic year courtesy a belated but much needed intervention of the department of culture.

The 42-year-old institution located at the heart of the capital city, once regarded as the only of its kind in Asia with as many as 14 departments in Hindustani, Carnatic, Odissi and dramatics, will again be elevated as a centre of excellence in the country in performing arts through an ambitious action plan that has been visualised by Culture Secretary G.N. Mohanty, informed Utkal University of Culture officer on special duty B.C. Biswal.

Accordingly, the academic staff council at its meeting on Wednesday has chalked out a blue print of the programmes for the year, he added.

Monthly seminars

With a thrust on quality of teaching and research, each of the departments of vocal music (Odissi and Hindustani), instrumental music (flute, sitar, violin, tabla and Odissi mardal), dance (Chhau and Odissi) and theatre arts will host eight in-house monthly seminars.

Besides four national symposiums, one for each of the four departments, will be held every year inviting experts and faculty members from prominent institutions from all over the country, Mr. Biswal said. The department of culture has earmarked an allocation of Rs.7.5 lakhs for the seminars and symposiums, it was learnt.

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