Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav

Every year during February, the stage is set for the Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav, a national festival of performing arts, at the foothills of Dhauli. The event is being hosted collectively by Bhubaneswar-based two prominent cultural organisations―Odisha Dance Academy (ODA) and Art Vision―along with support of Odisha Tourism. While Odisha's cultural calendar is replete with festivals of all kinds, this one is different from the rest as it offers an insight into the martial art forms of both India and abroad. While Dhauli Mahotsav, launched during 2004, was the brain-child of ODA founder and prominent Odissi exponent late Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, Kalinga Mahotsav was conceptualised by the city based well-known Italian Odissi dancer-choreographer Ileana Citaristi as an exclusive martial dance festival of India since 2003. Odisha Tourism―the Department of Tourism of Odisha Government―came forward as a partner clubbed the two festivals together and renamed it as Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav since 2011. The Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav combines martial dance, which celebrates the victory of peace over war, with classical and folk dances of the state. And the venue, Dhauli Hills alongside the Daya river, is the place where Emperor Ashok is believed to have fought the last battle of the Kalinga war before surrendering to humanity and embracing Buddhism.