Prabha Khaitan Foundation celebrates 'Vasant Utsav' at Indian Museum Kolkata

Odissi legend Late Pt. Kelucharan Mahapatra’s protege, Dona Ganguly, and four hundred members of her dance school Diksha Manjari enthralled a huge enthusiastic audience with scintillating performances of Odissi dance.

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Swaying colourful drop downs from the upper floors of the iconic Indian Museum and showers of yellow confetti fluttering in the air created a magical ambiance welcoming the onset of spring with dance and music. The Vasant Utsav festival was organized by Prabha Khaitan Foundation on the eve of Holi in collaboration with Diksha Manjari.

Dona Ganguly, wife of former Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly, has carved out a niche with her unique style of presentation of Odissi dance performances across India. Dona started training at the age of three under the patronage of the famous dancer Amla Shankar. Later, she trained under prestigious gurus like Giridhari Nayak and Kelucharan Mahapatra. Dona’s dance school Diksha Manjari was inaugurated by Lata Mangeshkar.

At the Vasant Utsav celebrations, Dona and her natyamandali artists expressed through dances the essence of 21 songs related to Holi in different languages. Odissi – one of the oldest surviving classical Indian dance forms of India - originated in the temples in Odisha to express religious stories and spiritual ideas. Expressions have a very special role in this dance form considered aptly suitable for presentation of mythologies.

Culturist and philanthropist, Sandeep Bhutoria, added context to the show by voicing a narrative titled 'Holi: Rangon Ki Kavita, Rason Ki Yatra'. 

In his narrative, he underlined that colours have uninterrupted relations with man's feelings. Just as the seven colours in the rainbow give beauty to nature, seven notes together make music complete and lively. 

Similarly, there are many colours of emotions also called the rasas in Natyashastra. 

These navrasas or nine rasas are the permanent expressions of humans.

Bhutoria further said that Holi is a festival of colours and the navarasas has a deep relationship with our life giving it its diversity and depth. Holi is not only of colours, but also a celebration of the rasas. He discussed the relationship with the colours of various expressions and recited poems related to it, including Tulsidas, Rasakhan, Meerabai, Surdas to Nirala, Pant, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Phanishvar Nath 'Renu' and Gulzar of modern Hindi.

Bhutoria is a wildlife enthusiast, cultural activist and thinker, globetrotter, travelogue writer, blogger and author. He is currently the managing trustee of Kolkata-based non-profit organization, Prabha Khaitan Foundation.

Referring to the Indian museum, Bhutoria said that this Museum, established in the year 1814, is the oldest and largest museum in Asia and the presentation of the Vasant Utsav within its hallowed premises imparted a thrill and a deep sense of being a part of a glorious tradition.

Arijit Dutta Chaudhary, director of the Indian Museum, concluded the event with a vote of thanks.