Doyen ignored by State
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Routray had the rare talent of being both an excellent writer and a consummate painter.
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Binode Routray
When a justly deserving artist does not get an award it is the award that gets devalued not the reputation of the artist. A case in point is Binmode Routray; an eminent artist of Orissa who passed away recently without being conferred the Dharmapada award, the State's highest honour for an artist.
Routray (75)for over four decades strode the art scene of Orissa like a colossus . Born on December 30, 1930, into a family of zamindars, Binode Routray defied his father's wishes to be a lawyer and took to art instead. He came under the tutelage of Nandalal Bose while studying at Shantiniketan. Although he returned to Orissa to join government service as an artist and later did illustrations for Oriya magazines, his contribution to Orissa art began in right earnest when he joined Khallikote Art . Routray's contribution in converting the school into a college gave a boost to the art education in the State . After retiring as the principal of the college he worked as president of the Lalit Kala Akademi from 1991 to 1994. He gave the akademi a new vision and direction.
Laurels galore
Routray has won many laurels and his works have been displayed in several art galleries. But what distinguishes him from other artists and is his steadfast commitment to Oriya essence and milieu. He never believed in absurdity while doing modern painting. Instead, whatever, he painted reflected typical Oriya ethos. That way his works were slides of Oriya life. His writings too had the same character. Routray was a rare talent who won honours from both Orissa Lalit Kala Akademi and Orissa Sahitya Akademi. He wrote many articles on art and even general subjects and had over 30 published books to his credit. . Three of his books have been published by Lalit Kala Akademi too.
He breathed his last on June 17 this year. Says Chandramani Biswal, the secretary of Lalit Kala Akademi-"An artist and man like him are born once in a lifetime. Sir was known for excellence in art as much as his great vision for Oriyan art and outspokenness over issues that agitated him."
Popularising Kathak
Rani Karna the renowned Kathak dancer, guru and president of Kolkata-based reputed dance institute "Samskritiki Shreyaskar" brought Kathak to the land of Odissi. Karna conducted workshops for young dancers both at Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. After the completion of the fortnight long workshop held at Kala Kendra the participating students presented a recital on the concluding day. The recital that began with a group dance as a paean to goddess Saraswati went on to showcase the various facets of Kathak as a classical dance form. The essence of Kathak like sharp linear movements, agility of footwork and precision of spins or chakkars were on display in solo items. Directed by Karna herself, the dance items featured about 18 young dancers initiated into the Kathak.
Enforcing discipline
Karna has been trying hard to popularise Kathak in Orissa and towards that end she has been presenting performances and conducting workshops. With focus on both physical and mental discipline Karna designed the sessions to have an approach and methodology that oriented the students towards the basics of Kathak. The salient features of the dance form, its grammar and idiom were slowly but surely imparted to the students many of whom were happy that the month long workshop taught them the power of concentration to achieve proficiency as a dancer.
BHIBUTHI MISHRA
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