BHUBANESWAR: Actress Gloria Mohanty and Odissi dancer Kumkum Mohanty were the recipients of the prestigious Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Awards for the year 2011.The awards, instituted by the city-based Srjan Odissi Institution that late legendary Kelucharan Mohapatra had founded, were given away by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the concluding ceremony of the 17th Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival- 2011 on Sunday evening.Each award consists of ` 50,000 in cash and a citation.Srjan director Ratikant Mohapatra said the awards were instituted 16 years ago as per the desire of his father and guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.“He had a keen concern for his fellow artistes.He always wished that those great artistes like him who struggled hard and achieved distinction in their respective fields, should be duly recognised.Thus, our annual awards in the field of dance, music, theatre, and cinema are being conferred on such personalities who deserve greater public recognition,” he said.He said the awardees were chosen by a five-member jury from the fields of music, theatre, cinema, dance and media.Stating that Guru Kelucharan’s contribution to Indian dance was unparalleled, speakers lauded the efforts of all the late Gurus, who have elevated the Odissi dance and accorded it an exalted status both at home and abroad.On the occasion, Culture Minister Prafulla Samal said Ratikant Mohapatra was the “worthy son of a worthy father,” The five-day 17th Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival-2011 saw performances by stalwarts like Jajgit Singh, Uma Dogra, Pt Bhawani Shankar, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Sunanda Nair and Kala Ramnath.On the concluding day, Ratikanta Mohapatra performed his dance drama ‘Ravan’ along with the students of Srjan which continued late into the evening and the audience sat spellbound.So far, 37 personalities have been given the annual awards.Since last year, the awards were being given in two categories and the cash prize for each award has been enhanced from ` 25,000 to ` 50,000.Among others, Forest and Environment Minister Debi Prasad Mishra, Tourism and Culture Department Secretary Ashok Tripathy were present at the concluding ceremony.
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