Source : The Pioneer
Noted Odishi dancer Sujata Mohapatra has been nominated to receive the Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi award this year.
Mohapatra, who had started learning Odissi at an early age from Guru Sudhakar Sahu, later took training under Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra at the Odissi Research Centre in Bhubaneswar. She married Ratikant Mohapatra, son of Guru Kelucharan. Her daughter Preetisha Mohapatra is also an Odishi dancer.
Another Odishi dancer, Janhabi Behera, has also been nominated to receive the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2017, an award given to an Indian artist who has made a mark as young talent in his or her respective field of the performing art. The Sangeet Natak Akademi on Tuesday announced that a total of 42 artists have been selected for the prestigious award.
Twelve artists have been selected from the field of music, nine each from the fields of dance and theatre and ten artists have been included from the traditional, folk, tribal music, dance and puppetry fields, the Akademi said.
The list of awardees includes Marathi theatre actor and writer Abhiram Bhadkamkar, traditional musician from Rajasthan Anwar Khan Manganiyar and among others, the revered classical singer and a representative of the Agra gharana, Lalith J Rao.
Also included in the award list are Prakash Khandge, Jagannath Bayan, Ramchandra Majhi, Saravjit Kaur, Sudip Gupta, Mukund Naik, among others. They will be conferred the award by the President of India at a function in New Delhi.
