The magnificent Sun Temple Konark came alive on Saturday evening with the dance festival and a International Sand Art Festival on its Chandrabagha sea beach.
The theme of the International Sand Art Festival’s is the ongoing Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018.
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The Konark Dance Festival, on the other hand, commenced with a performance by renowned Odissi Guru Durga Charan Ranbir and group fol lowed by Bharatanatyam, by Mrs Rama Vaidyanathan.
Prior to the performances, the inaugural began with the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony by Minister Tourism and Odia Language, Literature & Culture, Ashok Chandra Panda. Shri. Panda aptly described the annual festival as the “after-dusk celebration of the grandeur of the Konark Temple, whose essence of interplay with the Sun God’s first rays is on full display at dawn.”
Director & Special Secretary Tourism, Ms Archana Patnaik IAS highlighted the department’s efforts to promote tourism throughout the year through a diverse calendar of events, including the ongoing Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018.
She added: “It is a beautiful coincidence of cultural and competitive events that makes the Bhubaneswar- Puri-Konark triangle among the most happening places to be at this moment. While hockey stars are competing there at Kalinga Stadium, Chandrabhaga Beach is witnessing an equally exciting.”
