Shibani Patnaik (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)
Oriyas of Greater Seattle, a newly incorporated nonprofit promoting awareness of Oriya culture and arts, organized “Samsara: The Cycle of Life” last month at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, featuring famed Odissi dancer Shibani Patnaik. Odissi is a classical form of dance from India and is one of the oldest dance forms in India. “Samsara” musicians included Rupak Kumar Parida as a vocalist, Bijaya Kumar Barik on the mardala, Ramesh Chandra Das on the violin, Jabahar Mishra on the flute, and Jaydev Das. The show generated about $1,000 in proceeds, which will benefit the Summer Youth Leadership Program at the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation and TASVEER’s Independent South Asian Film Festival. (end)