Kolkata’s Naivedya Kathak Festival Returns with 108 Artists

One-Day Classical Dance Extravaganza Features Solo, Duet and Group Performances at Uttarpara

Key Points:

• Sitar maestro Sandeep Neogi organizes nine-hour Kathak festival at Ganabhavan
• 108 distinguished artists perform traditional bols, thumri and ghazal interpretations
• Special tribute paid to late Prateep Banerjee with two-minute silence

KOLKATA – Kolkata hosted the second edition of Naivedya Kathak festival on November 1 at Ganabhavan, Uttarpara, featuring 108 classical dance artists.

Sitar maestro Sandeep Neogi spearheaded the nine-hour event. The festival showcased solo, duet and group performances. Traditional bols, thumri and ghazal interpretations captivated the audience.

Senior artists lit lamps at the Nataraja idol. This ceremony opened the festival with devotional significance. However, the event quickly moved to performances.

Vidushi Madhumita Roy presented her thematic piece “Sarathi”. Meanwhile, Alokparna Guha performed an interpretation on “Tree”. On the other hand, Sandeep Mallick delivered a unique performance. He wore ghungroos but performed without traditional rhythmic accompaniment.

Organizers paid tribute to late Prateep Banerjee. A two-minute silence honored his memory. Moreover, the festival featured both established and emerging talents.

The solo performances included multiple artists. Vidushi Madhumita Roy, Sandip Mallick and Alokparna Guha performed. In addition, Anushka Ghoshal, Sonakshi Patra and Atrija Chatterjee participated. Paulomi Guha, Adrija Das and Priya Roy also performed. Furthermore, Suprova Mukherjee, Sudatta Saha and Poulomi Basu took part. Dr. Manab Parai and Shuschismita Dutta completed the solo lineup.

Duet performances featured seven pairs of artists. Abhipriya Basu performed with Shrestha Kar. Ujjaini Chattopadhyay partnered with Upalabdhi Dey. However, Sriyanka Mali danced alongside Prasenjit Majumder.

Tanwisha Chakraborty performed with Ananya Mondal. Susmita Chatterjee partnered Dr. Debasmita Mukherjee. Besides, Sangita Chaki danced with Sahelee Bose. Debangshu Mondal and Emlee Ghosh completed the duet performances.

Group performances showcased disciples of renowned gurus. Sanskrita Porel, Shakshi Sharma, Swapnaja Giri and Ritoja Nath performed. They are disciples of Dr. Malabika Mitra. In contrast, Snigdha Chakraborty Mondal led her own group.

Pritha Basu, Debjit Sarkar and Nandini Chakraborty performed with groups. Moreover, Mousumi Ganguly and Anju Bhattacharjee led their respective ensembles.

Vocal accompaniment came from three artists. Subhasis Bhattacharya, Kaberi Dutta Majumdar and Jaydeep Sinha provided vocals. Meanwhile, four tabla players supported the performances.

Siddhartha Bhattacharya played tabla alongside Subir Thakur. Biswajit Pal and Amitangshu Brahma also played tabla. Furthermore, Avijit Basu completed the percussion section.

Kamalesh Mishra provided sarangi accompaniment throughout the festival. Sandeep Neogi himself played sitar during performances. Pallab Bishnu and Tuhin Mahapatra anchored the event.

Several collaborators supported the festival’s organization. Prakash Tiwari, Sushmita Neogi and Spandan Neogi assisted. In addition, Babul Chakravarty worked with Shreyoshi Chakravarty. Ahana Chakravarty, Tanmay Dutta and Sandhya Dutta collaborated. Besides, Mini Kanti and Alok Kumar Kanti contributed.

The festival took place at Ganabhavan in Uttarpara. Young talents performed alongside internationally acclaimed artists. However, senior exponents also shared the stage.

California Television Global International were the Media Associate of the event.