Guru-Shishya Parampara and Major Exponents
Domain focus
This domain tests the transmission system and the major figures who shaped modern Odissi.
Core rules
- Parampara: an unbroken teacher-to-student lineage; learning is oral, repetitive and corrected in person.
- Guru-shishya: the guru demonstrates, the shishya imitates, repeats and gradually internalises; respect and discipline are part of the method.
- Gurudakshina: a traditional offering or acknowledgment to the teacher, not a fixed modern fee.
- Major architects: Pankaj Charan Das, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Debaprasad Das and Mayadhar Raut are central to the 20th-century repertoire; Harekrushna Behera and others contributed to training and choreography.
- Major performers: Sanjukta Panigrahi, Sonal Mansingh, Kumkum Mohanty and Madhavi Mudgal brought Odissi to national and international stages.
- Jayantika: the mid-20th-century group that helped standardise the repertoire and advocate classical status.
Worked example
Question: Who is associated with codification of Odissi pallavi and abhinaya through a famous teaching lineage? Reasoning: the question asks for a guru-architect, not a ruler or a festival. Answer: Kelucharan Mohapatra, while noting that Pankaj Charan Das, Debaprasad Das and Mayadhar Raut also shaped distinct lineages.
Traps
Do not say one guru founded Odissi. Do not confuse a performer with a theorist. Do not treat gurudakshina as a modern tuition receipt. Do not ignore the Gotipua and Mahari lineages.