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Odissi, Kathak mark finale of 36th Konark Festival; Sand Art awards announced

The second segment featured Kathak exponent Sanjukta Sinha and her group from Ahmedabad, who presented Adi Anant, exploring the energies of Shiva and Krishna, and Leela, built around the playful spirit of Krishna.

2 min readUpdated: Dec 7, 2025 06:16 PM IST

Odisa governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, during the felicitation ceremony

Odisha governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, during the felicitation ceremony

The 36th Konark Festival drew to a close on Friday with Odissi and Kathak performances against the backdrop of the Sun Temple in Konark. The final evening was inaugurated by Mizoram Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati, accompanied by wife, Dr Jayashree Kambhampati, Odisha Tourism Minister Pravati Parida and Tourism Secretary Balwant Singh. Arati Kar and her troupe from the Utkal Dance and Research Academy opened the finale with Tri Pathaga, centred on the sacred flow of the Ganga, followed by Niyati, a piece on destiny. The choreographies were created by Gurus Ramesh Chandra Jena, Arati Kar and Yudhisthir Nayak.

The second segment featured Kathak exponent Sanjukta Sinha and her group from Ahmedabad, who presented Adi Anant, exploring the energies of Shiva and Krishna, and Leela, built around the playful spirit of Krishna.

At Chandrabhaga Beach, the 15th International Sand Art Festival also concluded on Friday, with artists honoured for works created over the last five days. The theme for the final day was ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ for male artists and ‘Viksit Bharat’ for female artists.

Konark Sand Art Awards were announced across three categories.

The finale also marked the announcement of the Konark Sand Art Awards across three categories. Under the National Category (Other than Odisha), the recipients were Panchanan Mondal, R. Samuel Selva Durai, Valluvan D. and Gubendhiran K. (Puducherry).

In the State Female Category, awards were presented to Prity Ghosh, Sarswati Angriya, Nibedita Mishra, Diptimayee Pradhan and Barsarani Ojha. The State Male Category winners included Santosh Kumar Nayak, Pramod Biswal, Maheswar Sahu and Rakesh Sanna, recognising their remarkable contributions to sand art at this year’s festival.