BHAWANIPATNA: The Maa Manikeswari Ghumura Training Academy at Bhawanipatna, launched in 2023 as a joint venture of the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Culture Department, has turned defunct.
Once seen as a promising initiative, it is now being criticised as a pre-election gimmick with no funding support coming in. Ghumura is a popular folk and martial dance form of Kalahandi. It is performed to the beats of traditional instruments like Ghumura, Nisan, Ghaguri, Turi, and Jhanja, with dancers moving in intricate formations rooted in traditional choreography.
After establishing a Chhau Dance Training Academy in Mayurbhanj, the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi had set up the Ghumura academy in Kalahandi, with plans to later start similar centres for Dhemsa dance in Koraput, Mogal Tamasha in Bhadrak, and Dalkhai in Sambalpur. The academy was designed to provide stipends to trainees, remuneration to gurus, and other holistic support.
The district administration also provided accommodation for regular training and events. The one-year course enrolled 30 students, each receiving a monthly stipend of Rs 4,000. Two Ghumura gurus were engaged at a remuneration of Rs 10,000 per month. The training was intended to run continuously every year, with 30 trainees per batch, aiming to revive Ghumura, enhance choreography and presentation, preserve tradition, and create national and international opportunities for artists, thereby improving their livelihoods.
However, after the first batch completed its annual examination in January 2025, the results were not declared, and two months of stipends remain unpaid. More than six months after the first batch finished, the Akademi has not allocated funds to enrol a second batch. Trainees also allege that, unlike other cultural organisations being sponsored for out-ofdistrict and out-of-state performances, Ghumura Academy graduates have been denied such exposure.
As a result, the trained artists are disheartened. Sangeet Natak Akademi member Chintu Naik stated that the centre is currently defunct, as no funds have been allotted for the second batch and there is no budget provision yet. Kalahandi culture officer-incharge Vivekanand Mahananda said, “We have requested the Sangeet Natak Akademi for renewal and allotment of funds, but they are yet to respond. Once we receive the funds, training will resume.”