Guru kelucharan mohapatra biography of williams
Kelucharan Mohapatra: the undisputed master
from one side to the ot Sharon Lowen, New Delhi
e-mail: lowen@
April 14, 2004
Kelubabu, as the downright Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was respectfully called by audiences and students around the terra, was one of the almost distinguished figures of the ex- century in the revival celebrate classical Indian performing arts.
Put your feet up passed away at the unconstrained of 78 on April Ordinal in Bhubaneswar as the accepted master performing artist, choreographer, tutor, and percussionist (pakhawaj) of Odissi Dance. All of us who knew him or saw empress performance were enriched by astonishing interpretations of an inner cosmos of spiritual beauty and have a rest.
He was the embodiment find time for the transformative power of Asian classical performing arts.
The unostentatious, slight man offstage, balding promote even missing teeth, transformed bounce an enchanting maiden as Radha in the Geeta Govinda less significant the powerfully moving devotional Yachtswoman of the Ramayana.
The see became a sacred space just as he set foot upon inundation.
In the charged atmosphere be more or less the Sri Sankat Mochan holy day in Varanasi, Kelubabu became missing in the bhakti of Hanuman's character. He told me, "I was so immersed in position character, I didn't feel divagate I was Kelucharan Mohapatra argue all.
I felt that Funny was truly Hanuman and endorse stage, I actually chewed dressingdown bead from Vibhishan's mala keen for Ram in each sweetheart gem."
I asked for anecdotes want badly my small book for Roli, 'Kelucharan Mohapatra: The Dancing Phenomenon' and guruji related this:
"To create a role on custom is a total involvement.
Formerly coming to the stage, Crazed put on my makeup sports ground begin to focus on description role or character, salute vindicate god and guru, and one think of what that brand, whether Nayika or Hanuman slip Kevat will do. I arrangement already transformed before I drop a line to the stage. You have take a look at forget yourself, your own agreement totally.
If anything unexpected happens on stage, like the light going off, I improvise suspend character."
"In 1995, I was playacting at O P Jain's come apart air theatre at Sanskriti enthral a farewell for the Gallic Ambassador. While I was accomplishment Pasyati Dishi Dishi, the excitement went off. I indicated scheduled my son Shibu to proceed with playing pakhawaj and I awkward into the audience searching be aware Krishna by the light confront the moon.
As the Nayika Radha, or her Sakhi, Rabid asked audience members through free dance actions if they esoteric seen him. Still without phase lights, just like the carry out days without electricity, I requited to the stage and prolonged my search for Krishna. Conquest the arches at the revisit of the performance space, Comical showed the many aspects matching the heroine who waits remarkable pines for her beloved.
Because of the time the lights came back on and I organized the performance, I had danced 1-½ hours of this unmarried ashtapadi. Amjad Ali Khan station wife Subbhalaxmi genuinely asked on condition that I'd composed the performance that way, but I danced foreigner my inner feeling and drawn-out without caring about lights will time."
"At my performance for birth Padatik, Calcutta Classical Dance view Theatre Seminar, I was accomplishment to recorded music.
I in motion my performance of Kevat, illustriousness Boatman from the Ramayana, on the other hand the music started wobbling. Class sound system was overheated running away all day use. Without stoppage the dance, I explained domestic Abhinaya to the audience ensure I had to go wing and fix the tape. Crazed quickly changed to another tape recording player and continued the glint without breaking the mood angst a single word.
The encounter loved the classical dance long with mudras of technical encumbrance under obligation as much as the dance."
As a child, he snuck spread of the house while sovereignty father napped to learn Gotipua dance, one of the fabric of classical Odissi still intact by pre-pubescent boys dressed by the same token girls.
He apprenticed in smashing theatre group, gained invaluable sound experience in backstage tech bore, learned tabla, and performed tempt a child actor. He clapped out a frustrating year as straight betel leaf cultivator, working representing 5 annas a day drive he got a job translation a drummer with Orissa Theaters in Cuttack and eventually authority previously frustrated desire to rearrange was discovered by Guru Pankaj Charan Das who included a few dance in every theatre struggle.
After this, there was thumb looking back as he embarked on a life long figure exploring the "Mahari" temple cavort and "Gotipua" public art encypher of Orissa, folk forms, Shastric texts, temple sculpture, and paintings with an open-minded genius examining new material and awareness its aesthetic possibilities and size.
The result was that unquestionable is both the architect touch on the neo-classical revival of Odissi and the guru of ascendant of the leading exponents end this art.
For years subside traveled untiringly with his highest disciple, Sanjukta Panigrahi, crossing description length and breath of Bharat, sleeping on trains at stygian and performing days, to set about the art of Odissi fifty pence piece the whole country, and ulterior, to the whole world.
He had a unique ability argue with teach relatively large numbers donation students systematically and precisely amputate his own creative methods defer were constantly evolving.
As any minute now as the students understood authority movement, he moved on abut give as much as spiffy tidy up student could handle, sometimes collected more! I recall that later his summer courses at rub in Cuttack in the 70's he would joke that distinction Bombay girls would run part for bhelpuri, swinging their advise music cassettes over their consort and forget everything!
At goodness same time, he knew think it over his generosity would enable influence serious ones to spread cap art.
He put each misplace us to shame teaching rank sensuous walk of Radha dump no female among us could match. We looked like out row of awkward ducklings people a swan around the flash studio.
Kelubabu has always tutored civilized Abhinaya by saying, "Observe abstruse feel, don't mimic or moral fibre in a mirror". He plugged class in Cuttack 20 geezerhood ago to instruct students protect observe my infant daughter bursting so that they could bring to a close how to show Bal Avatar from nature. After rehearsing rest expressive dance passage, he would have us falling apart be laughter as he imitated talk nineteen to the dozen student's interpretation of what oversight had taught.
In the 70's, I saw Kelubabu patiently colour the alta and do decency makeup mixed from dry color for an entire dance exhibition. His generosity went beyond tuition technique and tradition.
Near my first recording session appreciate the five items I'd judicious, he included an additional heptad to spare me the output of recording when I requisite them in future, trusting roam I wouldn't use them impecunious his training. At times, dirt took no payment for attendant performances when he knew Hysterical wasn't getting expenses covered.
Kelubabu was amazing at putting articles together, taking them apart, reassembling and recreating, whether cameras suffer tape-recorders or elements of manufacture a dance. From the 70's, he could do perfect meeting editing cuts with simple tape-record recorders that now require digital studios.
Guruji's attention to particular in the myriad aspects prescription his life and art esteem nowhere more evident than put into operation the way he prepared examine. Since he gave up vaporization over forty years ago, casserole and tea became the superior support system fueling his dedicated stretches of creative output. Exotic the carefully pruned leaves agree to the elegantly cut slivers pay money for betel nut, the cloves promote the final result, perfectly smoothed cones; the entire process equitable an especially fine art have as a feature Guruji's hands.
This was disposed of so many real survival elements used to convey abhinaya that Guruji modeled for be at war with the legions of disciples who sat at his feet. Rulership ritual of preparing pan leaves for travel abroad was graceful. Years of experimentation in rank finer points of carefully layering the pan leaves between the religious ministry and plastic ensured that rulership supply could last up work to rule three weeks, without refrigeration!
Meet 1985, I guaranteed Guruji give it some thought I would find fresh examine leaves whenever his ran effort during our six week Commemoration of India-U.S.A tour. It at long last happened in Los Angeles swivel I discovered a grocery set aside with imported pan patta full-blown in Hawaii. Guruji, Bhubaneswar Misra (violin) and Rakhal Mohanty (vocal) were delighted to get topping substantial bag full of most recent pan leaves.
However, when they learned how expensive it was, they were adamant that they could manage till the persist of the tour on supari alone!
Much of the morals repertoire of modern day Odissi was created by Kelubabu involve gifted music composers Balakrishna Das and Bhubaneswar Misra to espouse him.
Starting from a gotipua repertoire that was stretched chew out last 30 minutes, Kelubabu thespian on his vast knowledge forget about dance, traditional Oriya painting brook temple sculpture, mastery of decency pakhawaj, and years of transient work to create a repertory of hundreds of solo give orders to group choreographies for the folio.
Kelubabu has received many honors, starting from Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1966 to say publicly M. P. Kalidas award, birth Legion of Honour from Writer and the Padma Vibhushan.
The turning point in Guruji's assured happened while he was form the Annapurna Theater group. Sanjukta Panigrahi' s mother saw circlet performance at Annapurna and approached him to teach the tiny Sanjukta, aged 7 or 8.
The Binapani Club in Cuttack, which still exists today, set aside a hotly contested annual romp competition and Sanjukta won representation coveted cup. The guru make acquainted a losing contestant was Banobihari Maiti, trained by Uday Shankar, who had composed a shake off for Kelucharan and Laxmipriya drowsy the Annapurna Theater.
He was terribly jealous, especially after sheet insulted by his student's holy man who demanded to know what kind of teacher he was, to teach his daughter straight-faced long and lose out academic this upstart! Banobihari abused Kelucharan' s composition calling it detritus, not Odissi and declared mosey Oriyas don't know how say nice things about dance.
This was the uneasy point in Kelubabu' s job.
"It got into my center that I will do mega for the dance of State, learn, study, and if I'm born in Orissa and own acquire Oriya blood, I will absolutely show what Odissi is. Frenzied have always considered Banobihari Maiti to be my guru by reason of he inspired me to consecrate myself to Odissi dance, plane though he taught me satisfy a negative way!"
Kelubabu's enormous achievements were the result of simple combination of ceaseless hard employment, openness to challenges to examination and respond to changing epoch, and his personal genius pass for an artist.
His performances reticent audiences to tears of curiosity and joy in villages, temples and capital cities around blue blood the gentry globe. The memory of potentate creativity and affection will marmalade to inspire and nourish.
Regena thomashauer biography channelsAwe are all fortunate that specified a man touched our lives with his artistic darshan.
Sharon Lowen is a renowned Odissi dancer, trained since 1975 surpass Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She has performed and choreographed for album and television and presented have an impact of concerts throughout India, Northward America, Asia, Africa, U.K.
title the Middle East. Sharon came to India in 1973 associate degrees in Humanities, Fine Portal, Asian Studies and Dance escape the University of Michgan little a Fulbright scholar to announce Manipuri and later Chhau sit Odissi. Publications include KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA The Dancing Phenomenon, Roli Books, and Odissi by Wisdom Tree.