Bhubaneswar: A fresh controversy has erupted in Odisha’s cultural circles after some male Odissi dancers took the stage sporting stubble on the second evening of the five-day Konrak Festival 2025 at the Sun Temple’s open air auditorium.
The sight rubbed many gurus and art lovers the wrong way.
On the second day of the festival, after Kuchipudi dance performances by Guru Vyjayanthi Kashi & Group from Shambhavi School of Dance, Bengaluru, the artistes of Odissi Vision & Movement Centre, Kolkata, performed three items. But the unshaven look of the male dancers of the ensemble didn’t go down well with some art lovers, drawing sharp criticism.
It is argued that facial hair on Odissi male dancers is at odds with the long-cherished tradition of Odissi dance.
Taking exception to this deviation, Special Secretary, Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department, Deba Prasad Dash said, “It is a classic case of fence eating the crop. The gurus are usually the first ones to raise their voices against whatever wrong happening with Odissi dance. If they choose to sit on their hands and watch in silence, what can anyone do? If the gurus present at the Konark Festival on that particular date had raised the red flag right then and there, it would have immediately come to light.”
Padma awardee Guru Kumkum Mohanty minced no words in expressing her displeasure. “Any deviation from the tradition of Odissi dance is unacceptable. Male dancers performing with stubble is nothing but a deviation from the tradition. I have never heard of male Odissi dancers performing without clean-shaven faces. This classical dance form should be performed with pure traditional costume, traditional music and strict adherence to the pure grammar,” she observed.
Recalling an earlier incident, she added, “Once, for a dance performance, Ratikant (Guru Ratikant Mohapatra) kept a moustache because his character demanded it, but had to shave it after sir (Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra, a Padma Vibhushan recipient) insisted. So even if it is argued that the dancers (performed at Konark Festival) had to keep the stubble as per the storyline’s demand, in Odissi dance, it is the dancers’ facial expressions, not the beard, that should speak.”
Calling for immediate action, she said the Culture Minister should convene a meeting of senior gurus, dancers, and art lovers at the Odissi Research Center to draw up clear guidelines.
“If anyone violates the norms, they should be blacklisted and their fees cut by 50 percent. Unless there are punitive measures, deviations will only increase,” she warned.
Senior Odissi dance guru, CSNA awardee and president of Odissi dancers’ Council Dr Snehaprava Samantaray also disapproved of such deviation.
“Odissi male dancers performin
g with stubbles is simply not acceptable. Sanjukta Panigrahi always laid emphasis on Odissi dancers upholding the beauty, decency and dignity of the dance form in ‘angika’, ‘bachika’ and ‘aharya’. So any deviation from the dance tradition is not welcomed,” she said.
“In this regard, Ileana (Padma Shri Ileana Citaristi), the Council’s secretary, some members and I will meet the Culture Minister soon. We will ask for a controlling body like the Bar Council of India and Medical Council of India with power to take action against those who violate the grammar of Odissi dance,” she added.
Former Chief Executive GKCM Odissi Research Centre Guru Sikata Das noted that Konark Festival stage is strictly for traditional Odissi dance presentations.
“Selected groups are asked to stick to traditional costume, traditional music and traditional content. But these norms are tossed to the winds in the name of innovation. Some gurus, festival organisers and critics object, but some others give the thumbs up, only encouraging the dancers to do as they please,” she observed.
When contacted, Ileana Citaristi emphasised on laying out a set of guidelines and confirmed they would soon meet the Culture Minister in this regard.
Young and globetrotter Odissi dancer Saswat Joshi held the selection committee members responsible for what he called an ‘unsavory experiment’ in Odissi dance at a prestigious festival like Konark Festival this year. “I have never heard of Odissi male dancers performing with beards. And, now it has happened. That too at Konark Festival. Who is to be held responsible for this?” he asked.
“Konark Festival is one of the most prestigious classical dance festivals in India. Performing at the festival is a dream opportunity for an Odissi dancer. There is a selection committee to finalise a group for the festival. A group is invited to perform only when it fulfills some criteria-strict adherence to purity of dance, music, content and costume. Before inviting the Odissi Vision & Movement Centre, the committee should have reviewed a clip of the production,” he observed.
Joshi went on to accuse some committee members of treating the festival as ‘their own institutions’ event’.
“If you want to show favour to any particular group, do it at your own institutional festival, not at Konark Festival. There are so many Odissi groups in Odisha that haven’t had the good fortune to perform there even for once. I myself have performed in around 90 countries, yet I have never been invited to this festival,” he pointed out.
Calling for corrective action, Joshi demanded that the Konark Festival’s selection committee be reconstituted every year without repeating the old members.
When contacted for comments, Sharmila Biswas, the founder of Odissi Vision & Movement Centre, Kolkata, said, “I don’t know if there is any written rule that male dancers must be clean-shaven. Personally, I don’t like my male dancers to have a clean-shaved look. That is my perception.”
Notably, five Odissi dance teams perform at the festival every year. While three of them are selected through applications, two through nominations.