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IIT-Bhubaneshwar starts Odissi dance as a subject; attempts to revive local culture

A couple of days back, there was news that IIT-Bhubaneshwar was
the first among all IITs to introduce Odissi dance form as an extra academic subject
for first year students. What was the motive behind this decision? Is Odissi,
which is the seventh most popular classical dance form in India, a fading or a
reviving trend? PaGaLGuY tried to find out the prospects of this initiative.

Prof S. Tripathi Deputy Director of IIT-Bhubaneshwar says,
“We wanted to provide something different than the average subjects one would
pursue. Besides, Odissi dance is a prominent part of the culture of Odisha
which too can be pushed further through the course.” Madhurima, a dance guru
from Smitalay Dance Academy says, “Odissi has seen a declining trend in the
last two decades. In the past couple of years, the Odisha government has taken
measures to start Odissi dance schools in every district of the country. Today,
almost 70% of the youngsters in Odisha would prefer to learn Odissi instead of
other dance forms.”

However, introducing Odissi as a subject in IITs will
influence the student’s prospects of receiving the degree in the final year. “While
any form of classical dance requires several years of disciplined training
preferably through the growing years of a child, students entering IITs are in
their late teens, an age where the body posture is already set and it is
difficult to adapt to classical techniques,” says an Odissi guru from Music
School Online, New Delhi. According to Suchismita Dash, an Odissi performer
from Infosys Dance Club, “It takes seven years to achieve professional level in
Odissi. The first two years being preliminary training – PP1 and PP2 and
another five years of training to work as a professional Odissi dancer or
guru.”

On the other hand, IIT-Bhubaneshwar students don’t wish to
pursue this dance as a profession but simply as a hobby. “I have always wanted
to learn a classical dance form, but the time span provided to us is not enough
to have a professional learning. At the end of the 4th year we will
only be given a diploma in the subject,” says Sreelata Dey, a first year
student of IIT-Bhubaneshwar.

The viability of this initiative can only be judged
in the coming years, but the core fact still remains that IIT-Bhubaneshwar is the first
IIT to have started a course as a cultural initiative. Can this be a motivation
to other IITs to start courses that revive their state culture?

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