Report by OD bureau; Bhubaneswar: The second evening of State Level Pala & Dasakathia Utsav was as enchanting as the inauagural evening. With the assitance of the Department of Tourism & Culture, Government of Odisha and organised by Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy, the performances of traditional Pala & Dasakathia Utsav made the audience at Rabindra Mandap spell bound.

The programme started with the performance of Dasakathia by veteran artiste Shri Sudarshan Padhi and co-artiste Shri Bhabani Sahankar Dash from Hinjilikatu of Ganjam District. From Madhya Parva of the Mahabharat by Sudramuni Sarala Das, the duo presented the episode of Nilendri Harana to the thundering applause of  the mesmerised audience. Dasakathia was followed by the traditional Pala presented by Gaika Priyadarshani Smt. Manorama Panda. The desciple of the legendary Pala exponent Jagannath Barik, Ms. Panda narrated the topic Naga Jyoti, a fanciful event about the curse of Rishi Matanga versus the chastity of the princess of Magadha, Padma. The last item was Pala Gayana by Gayaka Kokila Madanamohana Jena and troupe who presented Papamochan Yajna of Shree Ramachandra from Ramayana. These traditional performances received wide spread appreciation from the art-loving viewers of the capital.

The dignitaries who graced the occasion were Shri Saileswar Nanda, renowned dramatist and orator; Shri Rajat Kar, President, All Odisha Pala Association; Shri Ashok Kumar Tripathy, IAS, Principal Secrertary, Tourism & Culture; Shri Susil Kumar Das, Director, Culture and Shri Chitta Ranjan Mallia, Secretary, OSNA. The programme was compered by Dr. Mrutyunjaya Rath.