Among the many peoples who have made Orissa proud along the centuries, one of the biggest name is Odissi dance Guru Sri Kelucharan Mohapatra. He was born on on 8^th January 1926 at Raghurajpur, Puri. He has been the guru at some time of nearly every important Odissi dancer and teacher in India and throughout the world. He belonged to a family of Patachitra painters who used to paint patachitras of Lord Jeganath.

Like most of the geniuses, his life story is one of struggle and unending dedication. The story of his artistic experience touches all the salient features of the cultural life of Orissa of the last sixty years and it becomes the story of the growth and recognition of the Odissi style as one of the classical dances of India.

From the traditional expertise of the “Chitrakaras“ through the entertaining art of the “Gotipua“ and “Jatra“ parties, the “bhakti“ oriented “rasa leela“ performances and the innovative attempts of the Annapurna Theatres, Guruji’s artistic journey is one of the continuous learning and growth. Gifted as he is with a highly sensitive and creative nature, he observes and absorbs facts and phenomena of life around to mould them into forms of artistic beauty.

The two currents of art present in his family, the traditional painting skill of the Chitrakaras, and the rich and vibrating music tradition of the percussion players, are happily blended in him. By giving plastic dimension to the first he infuses life into it through the second. The tradition of ‘ Chitrakaras ‘ is a cultural heritage that is handed down through images; images that convey ancient legends in a Universally understandable medium of communication. But the world of little Kelucharan was not merely populated by visuals, it was also pulsating with the vigorous rhythm of  “Sankirtana“ and “Jatra“ which used to be regularly performed in his native village Raghurapur, a tiny hamlet in Puri district. In the evenings the little Kelucharan could be found in one of the two “Akhadas” in village, watching and imitating the dance movements of the boys under training or trying his hand at reproducing the rhythm of the “Pakhawaj“ on his posterior.

His father, Chintamani Mohapatra, himself a painter and a “Mrudanga“ player, did not like his son’s interest in the effeminate art of  “Gotipua“ dance, and to stop the son from going any more to the “Akhadas“ of Sri Balabhadra Sahu, he virtually abandoned him with Mohan Sunder Dev Giswami, the founder director of the famous “Kunja Behari Rasa Leela“ party in puri. Here at the age of nine Kelucharan began to soak up experiences which were going to leave an indelible stamp on his entire life.during the ten years with Guru Mohan Goswami he learnt not only acting, mime and singing but also the art of make up, stage setting and choreography. The working day began early morning with training in singing and rhythm and closed with lessons in the communicative art of  “Abhinaya“ in the evening. During the day the students, who were living together, were attending to the household chores, like cooking and dedicated themselves to various “Sevas“ of the Guru.

The troupe used to keep moving on tour, giving performances in villages and towns for about 6 to 7 months a year and the rest of the time was utilized in training and rehearsals for the season. The shows, an amalgam of song, and acting were on the theme of Krishna-Leela or episodes called from the purana. Mohan Goswami whose choreography with music and stage setting was planned entirely by himself was a legend in his time. Among the more famous creations of his were    “Balyaleela“, “Mana Bhanjana“, “Sharada Leela“, “Radha Premamruta“ and   “Bidagdha Madhava“ pared  on the various poems of Kavisurya, Upendra Bhanja, Banamali, Gopal Krushna and Jaydev.

Guru Mohan Goswami played an important role in his life. The Guru was a father and a protector to him. Not only do we find the versatility of Mohan Goswami in Guruji but like Goswami Ji Guruji also casts an extraordinary spell over his disciple.

For about a year after  leaving the Rasa Leela party battled hard to earn a bare living. With no fixed source of income he worked as a daily labourer watering and carrying sand for the maintenance of betel grooves. This grim  struggle for survival eased when he found a job in Cuttack with the Theatre Company of Mr.Kalicharan Pattnaik at Rs 7/- a month. His job was to help stage setting, act and play percussion instruments.

Kelucharan was under the able tutelage of Shri Agadhu Moharana in “ Mrudanga “ and Shri Kshetramohan Kar in “Tabla“ during his days with the rasa-party of Mohan Goswami and he did not stop there. In Cuttack he continued to take lessons in tabla  from Shri Harihara Rao.Intially contracted as an accompanist for only a month he stayed on with the Annapurna ‘B’ theatre of Cuttack for about five years from 1946 to 1952 distinguishing himself as a dancer, percussionist and choreographer. The real break came when a solo piece in a dance-drama on “Devi Bhasmasura“ brought Kelucharan to the  limelight. His brilliant performance as the “Nataraja“ under the direction of Guru Pankaj Charan, established him as a mature soloist. In the role of Mohini was Laxmipriya who  becamehis wife.They were partners in a duet in a number of performances together.

Under the guidance of Guru Pankaj Charan Das and Guru Durlav Chandra Singh the pair became famous for their performances of the “ Dashavtaara “ dance which was dovetailed into the drama of the legendary “Ta Poi“.

During this period he also had the benefit of learning from Guru Dayal Sharan (of Uday Shankar troupe), under whose guidance he further enriched his expressive vocabulary.

The training comprised the use of the various shastric mudras as well as exercises on physical flexibility and techniques typical of Uday Shankar ballet. This novel training coupled with his earlier experience found fruition in his maiden directorial production in the dance-drama “Aloka“ with Laxmipriya in the central role. He directed two to three dance-dramas in mixed technique and when he was around twenty eight they both left the Annapurna ‘B’ group, got married and went back to Puri.There he spent a couple of years doing research on both the “Mahari “ and “Gotipua“ traditions of Odissi dance, imbibing according to his own words, the spirit of devotion from the first and the technique from the other. The toil of this study found creative expression in his first Odissi composition for the role of Kalavati played by Laxmipriya in the “Upendra Bhanja Nataka“ staged by the Annapurna theatres (‘A’ group) of Puri.

By now Kelucharan was well equipped to teach Odissi dance and in 1953 he joined the Kala Vikas Kendra at Cuttack, the first college of music and dance include a course on Odissi in its curriculum. He was a teacher there for more than fifteen years. Besides working in the Kendra he used to impart lessons privately to some disciples including Sanjukta, Minati and Priyambada and was taking dance classes in some schools and colleges of general education.      During these years he choreographed a galaxy of dance-dramas in Odissi style, including  “Panchapuspa“, “Krushna Gatha“, “Geeta Govinda“, “Urbashi“, “Krushna Leela“, “Sakhigopal“, “Konark“ and “Sri Kshetra“. Supported  by the Kendra he did research on various folk & tribal dances of Orissa and enriched his repertoire of Odissi dance poses through further study of temple sculptures.

During the process his individual style was gradually taking a distinct shape that was at once, systematic and precise. These are the years when the first  “pallavi“ in ragas  “Vasanta“, “Shankaravarana“, “Kalyani“, “Mohana“, “Saveri“ and “Aravi” and the first ashtapadis from Geeta Govinda like “Lalita Lavanga Lata“, “Sakhi He“, “Dhira Samire“, “Yahi Madhava“ were composed.

In the eighties, after leaving the Kala Vikas Kendra, Guruji extensively traveled to different cities of India to be able to teach and spread the Odissi dance as far as possible. He became a regular visiting teacher for the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Delhi, For the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai and for the Padatik Dance Centre in Calcutta. The number of his students kept on multiplying and when he was not teaching them in their respective towns, they would come, especially in the summer months and learn from him in his own house in Cuttack.

By now Guruji will start again to reappear on stage as a solo performer and to leave the audience spellbound by the sensual beauty and naturalness of his interpretations of the character of Radha from the “Geeta Govinda“, of the fisherman “Kaibarta“ from the “Ramayan“ and of “Krushna“ from the innumerable Oriya songs.

Compared with Nijinsky for his “magnificent sinuous torso and arms and with  Chaplin for his“ most inspired gestural acting “by the American critics Guruji has by now danced not only in India but all over the world participating to the festivals of India in London, Russia, Germany, France, America and Japan.

His latest compositions in raga Bagesri, Khamaj, Kirwani, are noteworthy for their intricate rhythmic structures which speak eloquently of his choreographic ability as well as his mastery over “pakhawaj“ playing. With his quicksilver vizardry the sound of he “pakhawaj“ is no longer relegated to be a mere support to the dance but comes forth as a leading element in the recital.

For the  years Guruji was associated with Odissi Research Centre in Bhubaneswar and gave his invaluable contribution towards the work of codification and systematization of the Odissi style. After leaving the Centre in 1995, he is now fully concentrating on developing  “ Srjan “ the dance academy founded by him and his wife and directed by his son Ratikant.

Guruji is as adept in mundane matters as in the art of dance. His favorite materials are bricks and cement with which between one choreography and another he has built his first house in Cuttack and intends now to build the new Centre for his dance academy. He was infact on a bamboo scaffolding busy plastering a wall of a new portion of his house when the telegraphic message conferring the Central Sangeet Natak Academy Award reached him in 1966.

Unable to decipher the telegram that was in english, he got a neighbour to read it for him. Thus, he came to know that he had become the first Odissi Guru to get this distinction. The distinction conferred on him, also meant recognition extended  to Odissi dance as a classical form at last.

The title of Padma Shree came a few years later in 1975 and in 1981 he was conferred a Doctorate by the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. He won the Kalidas award by the Madhya Pradesh Government in 1987, the title of Padma Bhusan in 1988 and Padmabibhushan was conferred on him by the President of India in March 2000.

In spite of the many honours received, the amount of work produced (he has over two hundreds solo compositions and about fifty dance ballets to his credit) and the number of students who are spread all over the world, Guruji has never lost his undemanding simplicity and childlike purity, he lets his greatness sit lightly on his shoulders, carries his genius playfully with him. For him dance is “Sadhana“ and teaching is “Dharma“. He says “Hundreds of my students are dancing today and I feel as if I am dancing in all their beings. Only when nobody can take my dance or my art further will I experience sadness“.

Devotion and dedication run through the life and art of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Each action in his life  is an  offering at the lotus feet of Lord Jagannath.

Odissi dance in the hands of this great master has not ceased to be what it used to be from the beginning; a way through which a soul humbly and sincerely devoted, pay his service to the divinity. With his loss, Orissa has lost a name that it was proud of across countries.