Renowned Odissi dancer Mayadhar Raut (92) died on Saturday (February 22, 2025) at his Delhi home, his son Manoj Raut said.
“He had breakfast this morning, surrounded by his grandchildren and the rest of the family. He wasn’t experiencing any illnesses and passed away due to old age,” Mr. Raut said.
The last rites will be conducted at the Lodhi Road crematorium on Saturday.
The Padma Shri awardee, born on July 6, 1933 in Odisha, is considered the “Father of Odissi dance”, having steered the revival of Odissi in 1950s with Shastra-based knowledge.
His training to become one of the foremost artistes of the dance form began at the age of seven with learning the Gotipua dance form, a precursor to the classical Odissi dance.
Raut was the first to present the Gotipua dance on stage in 1944.
Later, he worked to codify, redefine and restructure Odissi dance to get it the status of a “shastra-based classical dance form”.
Raut was a founding member of Kala Vikas Kendra in Cuttack in 1952; it was the first institute in India where Odissi was taught.
Along with his colleagues, he founded Jayantika Association in 1959, to work on the codification and development of Odissi dance and provide it with classical frameworks and built its vocabulary, incorporating basic sciences of ‘Abhinaya’.
Raut is credited to have introduced ‘Sanchari Bhava’, ‘Mudra Viniyoga’, and ‘Rasa Theory’ in the study of Odissi.
He was also the first guru to choreograph Gitagovinda Ashtapadis with Shringara Rasa, including compositions like Pashyati Dishi Dishi, Priya Charu Shile and Sakhi.
From 1970 to 1995, Raut headed the Odissi department at Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. Delhi’s famous Kamani Auditorium was inaugurated with the performance of his Gitagovinda in 1971.
Some of his disciples include renowned Odissi dancers, including Ramani Ranjan Jena, Aloka Panikar, and Geeta Mahalik.
For his extensive work in the field of Odissi dance, Raut was given Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1977), Sahitya Kala Prishad Award (1984), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1985), Rajeev Gandhi Sadbhavana Award (2003), Upendra Bhanja Samman (2005), and Tagore Akademi Ratna (2011) among others.
He is survived by his daughter and Odissi dancer Madhumita Raut, and sons Manoj Raut and Manmath Raut. His wife Mamta Raut died in 2017.
Published – February 22, 2025 10:27 pm IST