Following in the footsteps of legendary Odissi exponent Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sharmila Mukherjee has carved a niche for herself. Without changing the traditional elements, the Bangaluru-based dancer has introduced a few innovations in Odissi that have earned admiration of the audience and the dance connoisseurs alike. The 50-year-old dancer has performed at many events, making her one of the most recognisable faces of Odissi.
Mukherjee’s stint with dance started at a very early age. After watching the performances of Guru Mohapatra and Protima Bedi in Kolkata in 1980, the young Mukherjee was totally mesmerised by the grace and lyrical beauty of Odissi. Later, she started taking dance lessons from Poushali Mukherjee, a disciple of Mohapatra, in 1984. She got all support and encouragement from her mother who had allowed a keen learner to follow her own heart. After a brief coaching at home, she underwent a rigorous training under Mohapatra.
“He was small and puny but his performance was stupendous and mesmerising that would astonish every spectator. I decided to join his classes after watching him in Sita Haran. I learnt the basics from his senior disciples and later from guruji in a residential programme in 1988 in Cuttack,” the danseuse recollects.
For Mukherjee, her Rang Pravesh performance in Kolkata is an unforgettable experience. “In November 1988, guruji stayed for two days with me and I rehearsed thoroughly before my Rang Pravesh. That was a new piece called Bihag Pallavi and the show was one-and-a-half hours long. While playing the pakhawaj, he gave me all the encouragement that a new performer needed,” the dancer says.
Mukherjee’s life took a turn when she met noted Odissi exponent Sanjukta Panigrahi. “I did lot of workshop with her. I travelled with her and we both performed at many places across India. She was an extremely dedicated dancer and a perfectionist,” Mukherjee says. In 2000, Mukherjee went abroad on a University of Michigan scholarship to give lectures on the dance form.
Mukherjee performed in many productions, choreographed and directed by Mohapatra, but her own experiments are keeping her busy now. “My guruji believed in innovations. You can make a statement with your own creation and the response I received for my Yaman Pallavi at the International Odissi Dance Festival held in December last year proves it. I have done many pieces like Vande Mataram, Chitrangada, Chandalika that have all been appreciated.”
Mukherjee moved to Bengaluru in 2004, where she started Sanjali, the only dance school in the city dedicated to Odissi. She teaches over 100 students and her school has taken part in several dance festivals. Her main objective is to bring Odissi into everybody’s reach and to encourage young dancers to take it up as a calling, just like her.
Mukherjee is presently busy in choreographing Pravaha, a production based on a Kannada folklore written by A K Ramanujam scheduled to be staged on April 16 in Bangaluru. Funded by the Union Ministry of Culture, a group of 15 artists will present a theme based on environment.
Mukherjee also uses dance as a therapy for hearing-impaired children. She teaches at the Oral School for Deaf Children (Kolkata) and Sheila Kothwala Institute for Deaf in Bengaluru. She is involved in many productions for such children.
“It is a two-way learning process where I imbibe the sign language and teach them through mudras. As many as 50 such children have performed Ramayan that was a huge success. Nowadays, I do small productions for them on the ocassions like Republic Day and Independence Day. They are good in mime and abhinay comes naturally to them. Their sense of pride is amazing. The dance itself is therapeutic and gives them a feeling to be part of mainstream,” the dancer says.
Mukherjee has won numerous accolades for her contribution to Odissi. She was recently conferred with the prestigious Mahari Award 2016 in Bhubaneswar. Earlier, the dancer has been honoured with the Singar Mani award from the Sur Singar Samsad (Mumbai) and Kal Gaurav award, among others. Mukherjee is an established panel artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and has performed in Fiji, Australia, Malaysia and Turkey.
Her latest performance at the 22nd edition of Guru Pankaj Utsav in Bhubaneswar was appreciated by all.