Justice was delayed but not denied to octogenarian Odissi dance exponent Guru Sudhakar Sahoo who would be presented the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award this year, the highest national honour for contribution towards performing arts.
Senior most exponent of the distinct Debaprasad Das gharana of Odissi, he has trained stars and stalwarts of Odissi like late Indrani Rehman, Bijayalaxmi Mohanty and Sujata Mohapatra.
In this interview with Shyamhari Chakra, he emphasizes how his journey has been more relevant than the destination.
Excerpts from the interview:
Don’t you regret that the Sangeet Natak Akademi award came to you after several younger exponents received it?
Yes, it was delayed, but I am happy that my contribution was finally acknowledged by our country’s premier body for performing arts.
I am contented that I could carry on my guru’s (Guru Debaprasad Das) mission and promote his unique style of Odissi despite not being duly recognised.
You have trained a legend like late Indrani Rehman. You also groomed Bijayalaxmi Mohanty who was a star performer of her times. You are also known as the first teacher of internationally acclaimed Sujata Mohapatra. Yet, you remained less visible in Odissi circles.
I was with my Guru from 1954 till his death in 1985.
I was not only his disciple, but also a constant companion. I stayed with him in Cuttack and Puri.
After he became a faculty member of the dance department of the state-owned Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Bhubaneswar, he could not teach anyone outside Bhubaneswar and hence sent me to different towns across Odisha to train students.
I spent my entire career as a touring teacher to various dance schools but could not develop my base in the twin cities (Cuttack and Bhubaneswar) where my contemporaries prospered . However, a scholar like late Dhirendra Nath Patnaik had acknowledged my contribution long ago. It was important for me to carry forward the legacy of my Guru.
During more than In your five decade career as a dance teacher, you have trained a large number of aspiring Odissi dancers. But However, you have hardly any disciple who could make a mark in the field of Odissi.
It pains me a lot that though I groomed hundreds of promising dancers starting with Bijaylaxmi Mohanty, who was a star dancer during her times like Sanjukta Panigrahi, very few could continue with dancing. Unfortunately, the conservative social system of those days ruined the career prospects of many such gifted Odissi dancers.
How did you get into dance?
I think I imbibed my love for arts from my father who was a musician.
He had an amazing ability to sing traditional Odia songs and explain them to the people around him in our village.This nurtured in me, a deep sense of love for literature, mythology and music.
I learnt music under him as a kid and that helped me join the touring theatre troupe of my village known as jatra party.
My first dance guru was Duryodhan Mohanty followed by Mohan Mohapatra, the last dance teacher of the devdasis in Puri.Later on, when I worked with the famous Annapurna Theatre 'B' Group in Cuttack, I became a full time dancer and dance teacher.
How do you rate today’s gurus and dancers?
Many of them are highly talented but, it seems most of them are impatient to achieve everything at a relatively early age.
It takes a toll on their quality and creativity.
What goes into the making of a great guru or a dancer?
One must have adequate knowledge of literature and music besides mastery over dance. It is equally important to learn from life besides the texts. Imitating the guru does not help. One has to develop their own perception and imagination.
