Other States - Orissa   

Odissi dancers bag coveted awards

BHUBANESWAR: Popular Odissi dancers Sujata Mohapatra and Bijayini Satpathy, hailing from Orissa, have bagged two major awards for their significant achievements as young artistes of the nation.

Disciple and daughter-in-law of late legendary Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sujata, perhaps the best soloist of the world in performing Odissi She has been declared the winner of the Aditya Birla Kalakiran Puraskar for 2007, instituted by the Mumbai-based 24-year-old Sangit Kala Kendra in memory of its founder president Aditya Vikram Birla, the award is being presented to artists in the between the age group of 25 years and 40 years, who demonstrated outstanding achievements in the field of performing and visual arts.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs.50,000, a memento and a certificate of honour. Earlier recipients of the award include Urmila Satyanarayanan (Bharatnatyam), Anuradha Jonnalagadda (Kuchchipudi), Ronu Mazmudar (flute), Aneesh Pradhan (tabla), Shashank Maktedar and Kaivalya Kumar Gaurav (vocal).

Incidentally, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was conferred with the coveted ‘Aditya Vikram Birla Kalasikhar Puraskar’, which has been instituted by the same organisation to honour the stalwarts.

Similarly, Bangalore-based Bijayini Satpathy, principal performer of late Protima Bedi’s well-known Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, has been the winner of the prestigious New Delhi-based ‘Samskriti award’ this year.

Winner of this year’s ‘Bismillah Khan Youth award’ from the New Delhi-based Sangeet Natak Akademi, Bijayini will receive the award from Magsaysay Award winner and Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu Mr.P.Sainath in New Delhi on November 2. It carries a cash award of Rs.25,000.

Both Sujata and Bijayini were also recipients of the prestigious Mahari award for excellence in Odissi dance.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Exclusive theatre complex to come up in Bhubaneswar
Mancheswar Industrial Estate yet to become an industrial hub
No animal sacrifices made during puja
Changing stand on nuclear deal
Maoists trigger seven landmine blasts in Rayagada district
Leopard skin seized
Puja festivities end with ‘Ravan Podi’
Odissi dancers bag coveted awards
‘Thana Puja’ bonds police and public
Music fest

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu