Bhubaneswar: The state cabinet Wednesday decided to take up proactively with the Centre for granting classical tag to Odissi music.
The government cited the uniqueness of Odissi music and its cultural heritage as reasons for demanding the same.
“In 1964, Odissi was recognised as a classical dance by the Centre. In 2014, Odia was recognised by the Union government as a classical language. Odisha government recognised Odissi as a classical form of music in 2008,” culture minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi said.
“This form of music is very ancient and has a classical base. It is also different from other forms of classical music. A resolution was passed to request the Centre to anoint Odissi music with a classical status,” the minister said.
Seven major decisions were taken by the state cabinet, which sat under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, relating to culture. The minister told media that the government has decided to develop Suando, the birthplace of Pandit Gopabandhu Das with a budget of `11 crore.
The cabinet has approved filing up several vacancies in institutions managed by the department. In a good move towards artistes, the government approved raising the award amounts of Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman, Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Samman, Dharmapada Samman and Byasakabi Fakir Mohan Samman from `1 lakh to `5 lakh. Similarly, amounts for awards of various academies would be increased from `50, 000 to `2 lakh and the amount of felicitations of various academies will be raised to `1 lakh.
According to a written statement of the department, it has received approval for carving out separate directorates for state archaeology and state museum. The government will also develop the state museum into a virtual entity. A similar model will be followed for Ananda Bhavan Museum.