The much awaited Kalaghoda Arts Festival, organised annually by Kala Ghoda Association, was held after a lapse of two years due to the pandemic. This festival is a multi arts festival providing a platform to visual and performing arts of India.

Several artists from various parts of the country and abroad come together to perform for this festival. Organised in the vicinity of south Mumbai, near Churchgate station in Cross Maidan and also in the premises near Jehangir Art Gallery, it is open to the public hence a lot of people come forward to attend this unique festival of arts. The festival made a grand start on 4^th February culminating on 12^th February.

On Thursday 9th February it began with the elegant Odissi dance recital by accomplished Odissi exponent and mentor from Kolkata, Rajib Bhattacharya. Rajib is the disciple of the legendary Odissi maestro, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Rajiv has also seeked guidance from his illustrious son, Guru Ratikant Mohapatra. Rajib commenced his elegant performance with Guru Vandana which is number for invocations to the Almighty, teachers and elders, hence similar to the Mangalacharan which is normally performed at the commencement of any Odissi dance performance. The next number performed was Patadeep Pallavi. Pallavi literally means to blossom, hence item exposes typical characteristic Odissi movements which is inclusive of "chauka" and "tribangis", the highlight of this number is the fine combination of both music melody and rhythm, hence the speed gradually increases and ultimately reaches the pinnacle of both music and intricate rhythmic patterns. which was performed with effortless ease and dexterity by Rajib. The music for Pallavi was composed by S.Bighnaraja.

Rajib concluded his brief performance with the bhajan Suno Mana that establishes the inter-relationship between the devotee and Lord Krishna, thereby the grand finale to the brief Odissi recital by Rajib Bhattacharya. Rajib is an established exponent and has several performances to his credit both in India and abroad.

The artists featured on the first day included SNA awardee and senior Kathak exponent Uma Dogra and her disciples, Graceful Mohiniattam recital by Divya Warrier, contemporary dance "60 Inches of Beauty" by Yetuka Tripati from Pune and a rare tribute to India's nightingale, Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar in "Ram Ratan Dhan Payyo" by Shubhada Varadkar, Latasana Devi,Namita Bodaji,Piyush Raj,Sunil Sunkara,Mitali Varadkar and Shreya Sabharwal. A grand start to the festival indeed.

Kolkata based accomplished Manipuri exponent and mentor, Sudip Ghosh performed with his talented team of dancers. Sudip heads New Barrackpore Gandharbi Center for Manipuri Art and Culture and holds the distinction of performing for some of the most prestigious festivals all over India. The first number performed was Hari Naam Prachar that incorporated the appearances of two avatars as, Sri Gouranga and Sri Nityananda and also the display of Nata Sankirtana with the exposition of the ganju taal of 14 matras and menkup of 6 matras,with the choreography by Padmashri Th Babu Singh. The dancers who accompanied Sudip were Varsha Vishwanathan, Purva Rane, Ranjini Raghavan, Sagar Gurav, Niyati Jadav, and Kanak Rathod. Sudip and his team danced with comfortable ease and elegance.

The highlight of the programme was the Stick dance also known as Cheirol performed by Senyai Meitei and P Priyambada. Cheirol is a new addition to the vast repertoire of Manipuri performing  arts. It can manifest the beauty of a lifeless stick, by sheer magical touch of a person who always would be a person of strong character and determination. Every step is calculated with different geometrical patterns blending well with the wrist movements along with the sticks. This dance is also acknowledged as a martial dance form.

Another highlight dramatic performance was "Kuhakini" presented by Dr Tushar Guha's Nrityanjali dance troupe.led by Anouna Guha  Performed in folk dance style on an original script, the story is set in the village "Dhin Dhina" and revolves around the lives of the village couple Chandramukhi and Suryabhaan and the Jadugarni Kuhakini. Combining elements of folk dance , creative movements and "abhinaya", this dance drama created a lasting impression on the audience. On the whole it was a grand festival with the exposition of diverse art forms.

By Guru Vijay Shankar