Room 314, Patrick French Black Box
School of Arts and Sciences
Central Campus
This lecture-demonstration will offer an exploration of Odissi Music, a vibrant tradition of music that evolved around liturgical practices of the temple of Lord Jagannath in Puri. With a rich repertoire of raga, tala, and compositions, Odissi music is positioned by its practitioners as the third, and Eastern, tradition of classical music in India.
Prateek Pattanaik will offer glimpses into the music, drawing upon his experience as a practitioner and scholar of this tradition.
An exponent of the mardala, Soumya Ranjan Nayak will demonstrate the rhythmic aspects of this tradition.
Prateek Pattanaik is a musician and archivist. A vocalist and Bīṇākāra, he was trained by his grandmother Smt. Kanak Lata Sabath and Guru Brundabana Khandual before studying under Pt. Ramarao Patro, in the lineage of Astābadhānī Āchārya Tarini Charan Patra (1893-1979), specialising in the critically-endangered South Odishan sampradāya of Odissi music. Currently a research scholar at Berhampur University, he is conducting an analytical study of the 17th-century treatise Saṅgītanārāyaṇa. Prateek specialises in manuscriptology, focusing on rare palm-leaf manuscripts and shellac records. He has authored three books, including the significant Odissi Sangita Baridhi (2023).
Soumya Ranjan Nayak is an accomplished Odissi Mardala artiste based in Bhubaneswar. He holds an MPhil and MMus from the Utkal University of Culture, having received extensive training under the legendary Guru Dr Banamali Moharana at the Mardala Academy, as well as Guru Dhaneswar Swain and Guru Satchidananda Das. A 'B' Grade artiste for All India Radio, Soumya has served as a Guest Lecturer at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya and as an intern at the Odissi Research Center. His performance career includes accompanying veteran maestros like Padmashri Shyamamani Devi and performing at major stages such as the Konark Festival and Spic Macay. He has been recognised for his contributions with the CCRT Junior Fellowship (2018), the National Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, and the Harekrushna Mahatab Award.