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Akademi plans festival for dying art forms

BHUBANESWAR: As part of its concern for conservation and promotion of the dying art forms of the State, Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi has drawn up a comprehensive action plan to provide patronage to the master practitioners of such forms.

Akademi secretary Manmath Nath Satpathy told The Hindu that despite severe resource crunch, the State Akademy of Performing Arts has zeroed in on the endangered folk art forms of the State. “With the changing taste and time, l ack of public patronage for these vibrant folk dance, music and theatre styles have marginalised the practitioners. Thus there is an urgent need to provide State patronage for these dying cultural traditions,” he felt.

In association with the Kolkata-based Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, the Akademi will host a festival for the dying art forms in the capital on August 24 and 25, said Mr. Satpathy. “We have proposed to showcase four important folk traditions of the western and southern Orissa – ‘Gahana’, ‘Harikatha’, ‘Sanchar’ and ‘Sabda swar pata’ in the first phase of the programme," he revealed.

The lone surviving ‘Harikatha’ artiste lives at Kabisuryanagar while the ‘Sabda swar pata’ dance and music tradition that has tremendous influence on the growth of Odissi dance is being practised only in a village in western Orissa, the secretary said and pointed out that people elsewhere must be exposed to these rarest of the rare living traditions of culture.

The Akademi has already initiated two special schemes for promotion of the two major and immensely popular folk traditions of Orissa -- ‘Pala’ and ‘Daskathia’-- it was learnt. Regular workshops and demonstrations are being held to make the forms more accessible to the contemporary society, the secretary said and added that various governmental agencies are being persuaded to use the two popular folk form for publicity and awareness drives. Hosting of workshops and demonstrations in the State apart, the Akademi has started organising Orissa folk festivals beyond the boundary of the State to highlight these vibrant folk art styles at the national level, Mr. Satpathy said and added that the first Oriya folk dance festival was mounted at Rishra last month.

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