The post-independence resurgence of performing arts owes its rejuvenation to a few pioneering minds on whose creative endeavors and visionary insights rested the future of these arts. In every art form, all over the country, there arose a leader who combined in himself or herself the sagacity of the tradition and the creativity that is needed to satisfy the modern consciousness. Among these leaders who nursed the birth and mothered the growth of the Indian Dance tradition, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra is the most agile and prolific. With more than fifty dance dramas and innumerable pallavis and abhinaya pieces to his credit, he stands as a towering personality on the horizon of contemporary dance.

The brilliant radiance of his art looks pale when compared to his humility, his honesty and an obvious innocence, rooted in his native rural artisan's environs and in his untutored background as well. With his conquering smile, his unfailing artistic sincerity and exquisite creative sensibility, he chartered the destinies of Odissi and carried the triumphant banner of Odissi as a classical dance style of exceptional lyrical beauty and grace. There were others who dreamt of it; there were also many who struggled for it; there were others who stood by him; if not by him literally, they shared the ideal.