Kelucharan Mohapatra

Kelucharan Mohapatra

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Category: Art

Kelucharan Mohapatra Profile

  • Name:
  • Kelucharan Mohapatra
  • Born:
  • January 8, 1926
  • Died:
  • April 7, 2004
  • Father:
  • Chintamani Mohapatra

Kelucharan Mohapatra Biography

Kelucharan Mohapatra was an exponent of Odissi dance form. He was also a guru and proponent of this art form. A doyen of this art form, he was the first person from Odisha to receive the prestigious Padma Vibhushan, civilian honour given by government of India. He received the award in the year 1989. Earlier he received Padma Sri Award in 1972. In the year 2000, he received Padma Vibhushan. Thus he is a recipient of three Padma awards for his contributions to the field of Indian art. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1966, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1991 and Kalidas Samman from Madhya Pradesh government in 1988-89 are other major honours received by him.

 

Kelucharan was born in Raghurajpur of Puri district, Odisha in the year 1926. His father, Chintamani Mohapatra was a painter and mrudangam player. But he didn’t encourage his son who showed deep interest in the effeminate art of Gotipua dance. He virtually abandoned young Kelucharan with Mohan Sunder Dev Goswami at the age of 9. He stayed 10 years with Guru Mohan Goswami, and learnt acting, mime and singing apart from doing makeup. He also learnt stage setting and choreography from his guru. He stayed with his guru and household chores (gurukula system of education).

 

He was a member of his guru’s troupe which performed at various places. He stayed with the Annapurna 'B' theatre of Cuttack during the period 1946 to 1952. A solo piece in a dance-drama on 'Devi Bhasmasura' brought Kelucharan into the limelight. There was no turning back after that. He dedicated more than 6 decades to the world of Odissi dance form and has taught numerous students. He passed away on 7 April 2004 at Bhubaneswar aged 78. He played a significant role in the revival of Odissi dance in the 20th century.

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Updated: June 26, 2016

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