Kerala - Kochi   

Celebrating Sambalpuri culture

Kochi: Sambalpuri songs and dance have a unique place in the cultural firmament of the world.

Sambalpuri song, dance, art and culture belong to western Orissa, comprising 12 of the 30 districts of the State, mainly bordering Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.

Kochiites will get an opportunity to watch Sambalpuri dance at the Kerala Fine Arts Hall here on Sunday in connection with the celebration of Utkal Divas, the formation day of modern Orissa. It is being organised by Utkalika-Cochin Oriya Association. The dance will be performed by Nupura dance troupe of Barapli, Orissa. It is being sponsored by the Orissa government.

Orissa Minister for Tourism and Excise Debi Prasad Mishra will be the chief guest at the function. The association’s souvenir ‘Chandrabhaga’ will be released by Mr. Mishra.

The association says western Orissa has developed a unique culture which expresses itself in a language called Sambalpuri that is distinct from Oriya. The folk songs and dances of Sambalpur are not only expressions of emotions but also of finer elements of life and living scientifically, fused into the rhythm of the percussion instruments of the region. In fact, the songs and dances have been revived and recognised in the past quarter of a century. In Orissa, Sambalpuri dance is so popular that it comes next only to the State’s classical dance, Odissi.

The Sambalpuri dance has a number of forms, with different lyrics and rhythms, that have originated from different castes/tribes and ethnic groups in the area and are based on different religious festivals/rituals and deities.

Although a number of folk instruments were used in Sambalpuri music, song and dance, only four among the oldest percussion instruments such as dhol, mandal, nishan and tasha are now used, the association says.

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