Kalinga Mahotsav alias National Festival of Martial Dance is one of the
most important festivals of Orissa, organized by the Art Vision in collaboration
with Orissa Tourism and Nalco. The festival is celebrated annually in
the month of February for two days at Japanese Buddhist Temple, situated
at the footsteps of the Shanti Stupa of Dhauli hill. The festival holds
a great religious significance for people of Bhubaneshwar and its aim
is to encourage people to follow the path of peace and calm, rather than
fighting amongst themselves. Martial art dancers come from all over India
come to Dhauli to participate in this Kalinga Mahotsav and perform various
prominent martial dance forms like Kalaripayattu of Kerala, Thang Ta of
Manipur and Chhow and Paika from Orissa.
