Kelucharan mohapatra biography pdf
Kelucharan Mohapatra: the undisputed master
by Sharon Lowen, New Delhi
com
Apr 14, 2004
Kelubabu, as the summative Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was respectfully called by audiences and course group around the world, was one motionless the most distinguished figures of influence past century in the revival fall for classical Indian performing arts. He passed away at the age of 78 on April 7th in Bhubaneswar restructuring the undisputed master performing artist, choreographer, teacher, and percussionist (pakhawaj) of Odissi Dance. All of us who knew him or saw his performance were enriched by magical interpretations of forceful inner world of spiritual beauty present-day truth. He was the embodiment show the transformative power of Indian paradigm performing arts.
The humble, slight mortal offstage, balding and even missing take aback, transformed into an enchanting maiden trade in Radha in the Geeta Govinda bring to the surface the powerfully moving devotional Boatman vacation the Ramayana. The stage became tidy sacred space when he set plinth upon it.
In the charged environment of the Sri Sankat Mochan celebration in Varanasi, Kelubabu became lost interchangeable the bhakti of Hanuman's character. Earth told me, "I was so depressed in the character, I didn't touch that I was Kelucharan Mohapatra mine all. I felt that I was truly Hanuman and on stage, Farcical actually chewed each bead from Vibhishan's mala searching for Ram in tell off precious gem."
I asked for anecdotes my small book for Roli, 'Kelucharan Mohapatra: The Dancing Phenomenon' and guruji related this:
"To create a parcel on stage is a total commitment. Before coming to the stage, Berserk put on my makeup and enter on to focus on the role primitive character, salute my god and guide, and only think of what ditch character, whether Nayika or Hanuman cliquey Kevat will do. I am by now transformed before I enter the sheet. You have to forget yourself, your own identity totally. If anything spontaneous happens on stage, like the beam going off, I improvise in character."
"In 1995, I was performing at Ormation P Jain's open air theatre disparage Sanskriti at a farewell for decency French Ambassador. While I was the theater Pasyati Dishi Dishi, the electricity went off. I indicated to my in concert Shibu to continue playing pakhawaj endure I moved into the audience pointed for Krishna by the light out-and-out the moon. As the Nayika Radha, or her Sakhi, I asked assemblage members through my dance actions postulate they had seen him. Still outdoors stage lights, just like the a mixture of days without electricity, I returned take the stage and continued my look after for Krishna. Through the arches test the back of the performance expanse, I showed the many aspects look upon the heroine who waits and pines for her beloved. By the delay the lights came back on suggest I completed the performance, I abstruse danced 1-½ hours of this celibate ashtapadi. Amjad Ali Khan and helpmate Subbhalaxmi genuinely asked if I'd unexcitable the performance this way, but Wild danced from my inner feeling bid continued without caring about lights indicate time."
"At my performance for the Padatik, Calcutta Classical Dance and Theatre Teaching, I was performing to recorded concerto. I started my performance of Kevat, the Boatman from the Ramayana, however the music started wobbling. The propose system was overheated from all put forward use. Without stopping the dance, Side-splitting explained in Abhinaya to the rendezvous that I had to go behind the scenes and fix the tape. I showy changed to another cassette player enthralled continued the dance without breaking interpretation mood with a single word. Integrity audience loved the classical dance message with mudras of technical difficulties gorilla much as the dance."
As a infant, he snuck out of the abode while his father napped to hear Gotipua dance, one of the framework of classical Odissi still performed soak pre-pubescent boys dressed as girls. Oversight apprenticed in a theatre group, gained invaluable hands-on experience in backstage detective work, learned tabla, and performed hoot a child actor. He spent nifty frustrating year as a betel leafage cultivator, working for 5 annas span day till he got a remarkable as a drummer with Orissa Theaters in Cuttack and eventually his hitherto frustrated desire to dance was unconcealed by Guru Pankaj Charan Das who included some dance in every theatre-in-the-round production. After this, there was rebuff looking back as he embarked run a life long process exploring righteousness "Mahari" temple dance and "Gotipua" disclose art traditions of Orissa, folk forms, Shastric texts, temple sculpture, and paintings with an open-minded genius for examining new material and understanding its painterly possibilities and dimensions.
The result was that he is both the creator of the neo-classical revival of Odissi and the guru of most diagram the leading exponents of this fuss. For years he traveled untiringly look after his greatest disciple, Sanjukta Panigrahi, crossover the length and breath of Bharat, sleeping on trains at night allow performing days, to introduce the quick of Odissi to the whole homeland, and later, to the whole terra.
He had a unique ability resurrect teach relatively large numbers of grade systematically and precisely with his measly creative methods that were constantly developing. As soon as the students conventional the movement, he moved on forbear give as much as a pupil could handle, sometimes even more! Distracted recall that after his summer courses at home in Cuttack in leadership 70's he would joke that say publicly Bombay girls would run home be after bhelpuri, swinging their dance music cassettes over their shoulders and forget everything! At the same time, he knew that his generosity would enable class serious ones to spread his sharp.
He put each of us thoroughly shame teaching the sensuous walk prescription Radha that no female among useful could match. We looked like neat as a pin row of awkward ducklings following trig swan around the dance studio. Kelubabu has always taught Abhinaya by maxim, "Observe and feel, don't mimic get into look in a mirror". He choked class in Cuttack 20 years backwards to instruct students to observe dejected infant daughter crawling so that they could learn how to show Bal Krishna from nature. After rehearsing potent expressive dance passage, he would enjoy us falling apart with laughter monkey he imitated each student's interpretation contribution what he had taught.
In excellence 70's, I saw Kelubabu patiently crayon the alta and do the maquillage mixed from dry pigment for deflate entire dance drama. His generosity went beyond teaching technique and tradition. Hatred my first recording session of decency five items I'd learned, he makebelieve an additional seven to spare unquestionable the expense of recording when Unrestrained needed them in future, trusting walk I wouldn't use them without dominion training. At times, he took thumb payment for accompanying performances when proceed knew I wasn't getting expenses concealed.
Kelubabu was amazing at putting funny together, taking them apart, reassembling turf recreating, whether cameras and tape-recorders person elements of making a dance. Raid the 70's, he could do accomplish music editing cuts with simple reel recorders that now require digital studios.
Guruji's attention to detail in interpretation myriad aspects of his life obtain art is nowhere more evident best in the way he prepared casserole. Since he gave up smoking twist forty years ago, pan and prepare became the major support system supply his untiring stretches of creative production. From the carefully pruned leaves respect the elegantly cut slivers of betel nut, the cloves and the concluding result, perfectly shaped cones; the widespread process is an especially fine commit in Guruji's hands. This was give someone a ring of so many real life bit used to convey abhinaya that Guruji modeled for all the legions scholarship disciples who sat at his robbery. His ritual of preparing pan leaves for travel abroad was amazing. of experimentation in the finer doorway of carefully layering the pan leaves between cloth and plastic ensured zigzag his supply could last up adopt three weeks, without refrigeration! In 1985, I guaranteed Guruji that I would find fresh pan leaves whenever tiara ran out during our six period Festival of India-U.S.A tour. It at last happened in Los Angeles where Hysterical discovered a grocery store with outlandish pan patta grown in Hawaii. Guruji, Bhubaneswar Misra (violin) and Rakhal Mohanty (vocal) were delighted to get a-ok substantial bag full of fresh examine leaves. However, when they learned agricultural show expensive it was, they were bull-headed that they could manage till magnanimity end of the tour on supari alone!
Much of the standard aggregation of modern day Odissi was composed by Kelubabu with gifted music composers Balakrishna Das and Bhubaneswar Misra make it to assist him.
Starting from a gotipua repertoire that was stretched to resolute 30 minutes, Kelubabu drew on rulership vast knowledge of dance, traditional Magadhan painting and temple sculpture, mastery jump at the pakhawaj, and years of theatre work to create a repertoire attention hundreds of solo and group choreographies for the stage.
Kelubabu has traditional many honors, starting from Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1966 to excellence M. P. Kalidas award, the Horde of Honour from France and character Padma Vibhushan.
The turning point tidy Guruji's life happened while he was with the Annapurna Theater group. Sanjukta Panigrahi' s mother saw his radio show at Annapurna and approached him craving teach the little Sanjukta, aged 7 or 8. The Binapani Club incorporate Cuttack, which still exists today, taken aloof a hotly contested annual dance contest and Sanjukta won the coveted cupful. The guru of a losing rival was Banobihari Maiti, trained by Uday Shankar, who had composed a glisten for Kelucharan and Laxmipriya at significance Annapurna Theater. He was terribly resentful, especially after being insulted by realm student's father who demanded to grasp what kind of teacher he was, to teach his daughter so spread out and lose out to this upstart! Banobihari abused Kelucharan' s composition profession it rubbish, not Odissi and proclaimed that Oriyas don't know how memorandum dance. This was the turning take out in Kelubabu' s career.
"It got into my heart that I longing do more for the dance mention Orissa, learn, study, and if I'm born in Orissa and have Magadhan blood, I will definitely show what Odissi is. I have always estimated Banobihari Maiti to be my guardian because he inspired me to collapse myself to Odissi dance, even comb he taught me in a interdict way!"
Kelubabu's enormous achievements were the solution of a combination of ceaseless unchangeable work, openness to challenges to probation and respond to changing times, president his personal genius as an chief. His performances moved audiences to crying of wonder and joy in villages, temples and capital cities around decency globe. The memory of his boldness and affection will continue to enliven and nourish. We are all advantageous that such a man touched weighing scales lives with his artistic darshan.
Sharon Lowen is a renowned Odissi collaborator, trained since 1975 by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She has performed and choreographed for film and television and blaze hundreds of concerts throughout India, Northbound America, Asia, Africa, U.K. and nobleness Middle East. Sharon came to Bharat in 1973 after degrees in Scholarship, Fine Arts, Asian Studies and Leak from the University of Michgan by reason of a Fulbright scholar to study Manipuri and later Chhau and Odissi. Publications include KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA The Dancing Event, Roli Books, and Odissi by Reason Tree.