BHUBANESWAR: The state textiles, handlooms and handicraft department will organize the Toshali Craft Fair instead of the tourism department, this year onwards. The main focus of this year's fair, set to begin from December 15 at the Janata Maidan in the city, is traditional state handloom, with a theme pavilion on tussar.

The fair, started in the line of Surajkund Fair in Haryana with an aim to provide a taste of crafts, cuisine and culture of Odisha. This year, about 350 artisans and weavers from across the country will take part in the fair, in which a cultural show by eminent artists from Odisha and outside the state will take part.

The fair will be an international affair like the previous year, as some Saarc countries will participate in it.

BHUBANESWAR: Konark Festival, the classical dance and music extravaganza, started on a low-key and sombre note on Sunday in view of the devastation's caused by cyclone Phailin. Culture minister Maheswar Mohanty inaugurated the festival at the open-air amphitheatre with the famous Sun Temple in the backdrop.

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Konark Dance Festival 2013 clip 01
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The festival began with a beautiful Odissi duet by Raipur-based Odissi dancers Purnashree Raut and Lucky Mohanty. In Ardhanareswar, the artistes presented the philosophy of the duality within human beings while the troupe presented the episode from the Ramayan.

The performance was followed by Bharatnatyam performance by dance guru Anitha Guha and her disciples. "In precise postures and refined patterns, the dancers presented excellence in choreography accompanied by lustrous music," said Niharika Nayak, a classical dance lover.

The second International Sand Art Festival also began at the sprawling beach of Chandrabhaga in which 30 sand artists from India and abroad participated to showcase their art.

More than 25,000 migratory birds from Siberia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Himalayan regions have arrived in the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district, an official said Friday. 

The birds which have been sighted include different varieties of ducks, shovellers, herons, and pintails, divisional forest officer of the park Kedar Kumar Swain told IANS. 

"More than 25,000 migratory birds have already arrived. The highest concentration of birds so far was found at Satabhaya area of the park," he said. 

The birds started arriving in the middle of this month and the number will gradually increase by the second week of December, he added. 

Swain said nearly 15 anti-poaching squads comprising 75 officials and volunteers have been engaged in the park to protect the birds. They are carrying out regular patrol in the park area. 

The Bhitarkanika National Park, which is also a wildlife sanctuary, is located 170 km from Bhubaneswar. It is home to over 200 species of birds, including about 100 species of migratory birds. 

The sanctuary is also widely known as the world's largest rookery of Olive Ridley sea turtles. 

Every year, more than a million migratory birds from places as far as Siberia and Iraq flock to various sites of the state in October-November and return in February-March, often with their fledelings.