Panja shows his versatility

Ajit Kumar Panja made yet another public appearance on January 9, though not as Minister of State for External Affairs.

The versatile actor and his troupe of Calcutta High Court Bar Association staged the drama Nati Binodini on the concluding day of the five-day beach festival in Bhubaneshwar.

The festival also saw Donna Roy Ganguly, student of renowned Odissi dance exponent Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra, and wife of Indian cricket skipper, Saurab Ganguly.

Pop singer Usha Uthup was also present.

The festival included a medley of cultural programmes from the various states of the country and a wide variety of handloom and handicraft products.

According to Festival Chairman JK Mahanty, cultural items by the artists of the Song and Drama Division, dances from Nepal, Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh will be presented during the cultural extravaganza, which is starting on February 5.

He said the prestigious Padma Bibhusan awardee Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and his troupe Srijan will present the Odissi dance ballet on the concluding day.

Donna Roy Ganguly and her troupe from Calcutta, will present the Odissi group dance on February 7 while Usha Uthup will perform in a live show on the second day of the festival.

The other attractions are Bharatnatyam group dance by Guru MT Thankamani Kutty, Jugalbandi dance by Arundhati Roy and the troupe of Calcutta, Laban dance by artists of Maharashtra, snow lion dance of Sikkim, Rannapa dance of Ganjam and Bihu dance of Assam.

UNI