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.
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.”