Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra is one of the greatest exponents of the classical dance form of Odissi. Like most highly evolved forms of art, Odissi dance draws from the energy of sculpture, painting, literature and its precedent dance forms. Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was born in 1926 in Raghurajpur, a village in Orissa. He has dedicated his life to refining the dance form by chiselling out an elegant structural niche for it - in all that is sacred in art. Through a series of performances, poetry and excerpts from Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's life, the film travels back to a time in India where dance was looked upon as a form of prayer. During this beautiful period, dance was not looked considered feminine, when men were also keen patrons and teachers of dance. However, as times have changed, women have gradually taken over this art form.

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra : Odissi Abhinaya Kevat Prasang from Tusli Ramayan Dance Choreography : Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Music Composition : Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi Credit : A Doordarshan Presentation Disclaimer This website may contain copyrighted material ,the use of which has not been specifically authorized by copyright holders .The material made available on this site is for archival and educational purposes as transformative use of copyrighted material under the fair use law . The purpose is to advance research ,teaching and intercultural understanding of Odissi dance . Most of the archival material has been gifted to the author of the site for archival and educational purposes by the responsible stakeholders of the material .There is no commercial interest or financial profit gained by the author in the propagation of the media . Fair use under the "Copyright Disclaimer of Section 107 of the copyright act 1976, allowance is made for fair use which is the right to reproduce ,use and share copyrighted works of cultural production without direct permission or payment to the original copyright holders . Section 107 of the Copyright Act

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra A clip from a documentary "Odissi for America" by Prema Dasara Courtesy : Prema Dasara collection Disclaimer This website may contain copyrighted material ,the use of which has not been specifically authorized by copyright holders .The material made available on this site is for archival and educational purposes as transformative use of copyrighted material under the fair use law . The purpose is to advance research ,teaching and intercultural understanding of Odissi dance . Most of the archival material has been gifted to the author of the site for archival and educational purposes by the responsible stakeholders of the material .There is no commercial interest or financial profit gained by the author in the propagation of the media . Fair use under the "Copyright Disclaimer of Section 107 of the copyright act 1976, allowance is made for fair use which is the right to reproduce ,use and share copyrighted works of cultural production without direct permission or payment to the original copyright holders . Section 107 of the Copyright Act

Odissi Music Concert : Japan Tour 1986 One of the only rare video clip of both the great masters of modern day odissi, explaining and demontrating different Talas in odissi pallavi music, The father of odissi dance and mother of odissi music : Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra on Odissi Mardal Pandit Bhubaneshwar Mishra on Violin Credit : Kumkum Lal Collection Pad.ma Disclaimer This website may contain copyrighted material ,the use of which has not been specifically authorized by copyright holders .The material made available on this site is for archival and educational purposes as transformative use of copyrighted material under the fair use law . The purpose is to advance research ,teaching and intercultural understanding of Odissi dance . Most of the archival material has been gifted to the author of the site for archival and educational purposes by the responsible stakeholders of the material .There is no commercial interest or financial profit gained by the author in the propagation of the media . Fair use under the "Copyright Disclaimer of Section 107 of the copyright act 1976, allowance is made for fair use which is the right to reproduce ,use and share copyrighted works of cultural production without direct permission or payment to the original copyright holders . Section 107 of the Copyright Act