Utsav Educational and Cultural Society, an Odissi dance academy by Padmashree and SNA Awardee Smt. Ranjana Gauhar is back with its 17th edition of their annual festival Saare Jahan Se Accha. Celebrating the 75th Independence Day, the dance festival is a part of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” Govt.of India scheduled on 17th & 18th August starting from 7:00 pm onward on both the days at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre.
This year the dance festival is special as the Utsav Educational and Cultural Society completed 35 years of its cultural journey in preserving and promoting the classical dance and music traditions of India, particularly Odissi. The two-day long festival has an exciting line of artists and performances starting with Guru Ranjana Gauhar and her disciples presenting “Nritya Dhara” a tribute to India’s cultural heritage. The piece incorporates an image in a unified voice reflecting love for the country and interpreting it through four classical dance styles and the martial art style Chhau. This will be followed by Guru Santosh Nair and his disciples performing Chhau, Mohiniyattam by Guru Jayaprabha Menon and disciples, Guru Vidha Lal and disciples presenting Kathak and Guru Mangoljao Singh and disciples presenting Manipuri.
The second day of the festival will witness magical moments when Disciples of Padmashree Guru Ranjana Gauhar will present Utsav Repertory, Padmashree Guru Shashadhar Acharya and disciples will perform Saraikela Chhau, Smt. Gopika Verma will present Mohiniyattam. This will be followed by Contemporary dance performance by Guru Santosh Nair and disciples. Later, Smt Rashmi Vaidyalingam will present Kuchipudi and Smt. Gauri Diwakar will perform Kathak.
Commenting on the 35th year of Utsav Educational and Cultural Society, Guru Ranjana Gauhar said, “Over the years we have been organizing several dance programs to preserve and promote the classical dance and music traditions of India. Talented artists in India and abroad from different genres of Indian classical dance come together to perform at various annual dance festivals organized by Utsav. This is our honor to have been at the forefront of the country’s cultural scenario. I look forward to ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha’ production, all the Gurus and their disciples have put in a lot of effort to make it big and special, and I extend my humble gratitude to each artist.”
