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Bhubaneswar, June 21: Odissi exponent Guru Kanduri Charan Behera died at a private hospital here Tuesday. He was 54.
The guru had been suffering from cardiac problems and kidney failure and breathed his last about 9am.
Born August 22, 1961, in Chasapada near Chandpur in Puri, Guru Kanduri Charan started out as a Gotipua dancer and graduated in Odissi from Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya. He had trained in Odissi under gurus Pankaj Charan Das, Debaprasad Das, Mahadev Rout, Kelucharan Mohapatra and Gangadhar Pradhan. He dedicated his entire life to dance and is considered a great dancer and guru of Odissi classical dance.
The guru had been a diabetic and was dependent on dialysis for the past many years. Sources said, he may have suffered kidney failure and heart problems due to the prolonged dialysis.
In 1988, Guru Kanduri Charan joined Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre as a member of faculty and taught there for 23 years. According to sources, he used to work at the centre for a paltry pay of Rs6,000 per month and could not bear expenses for treatment. Odissi dancers’ associations collected funds for his treatment.
Students of the master dancer have expressed sadness at his demise. Pallavi Das, a Mumbai-based Odissi dancer and disciple of the guru, said: “He had been a disciple of my grandfather Guru Pankaj Das and I become his disciple. I did my scholarship under him. Apart from being a great Odissi dancer he was a very good choreographer. I remember him as very friendly teacher who loved his students and guided them.”
The mortal remains of the guru were kept at Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre for faculty and students of the institution to pay last respects. His body then taken to Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya for people to pay tributes. The last rites were performed in his village.
