Gangadhar Pradhan (10 July 1948 – 10 October 2010) was an Indian

Odissi ''Odissi'' (''ଓଡ଼ିଶୀ'') also referred to as ''Orissi'' in old literature, oldest surviving classical dance of India, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern ...

dancer.

Life and career

Pradhan was born in Parikula, a village in

Puri district Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one Administrative subdivision, sub-division, 11 Tehsils, tahasils and 11 Block (country subdivision), blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only Nagar ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. He was a sickly baby; his father, Muralidhar Pradhan, a farmer, and mother, Dwitika Devi, whose previous children had died, dedicated him to Balunkeshwar, the presiding deity of the temple in the nearby village of Dimirisena. When he was six, he became a

Gotipua ''Gotipua'' (Odia language, Odia- ଗୋଟିପୁଅ, pronounced ''goṭipuå'') is a traditional dance form in the state of Odisha, India, and the precursor of Odissi classical dance. It has been performed in Orissa for centuries by young ...

dancer at the temple and discovered a vocation for dance. He later trained at

Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya is a performing arts-cum-educational institution in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. History and Accreditation Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya was established by former Chief minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik on 14 April 1964 ...

in Odissi and in playing the

mardala Mardala (, ) is a classical percussive instrument native to the east Indian state of Odisha, traditionally used as the primary accompaniment in Odissi classical music. The instrument is slightly different from other instruments (like Madal, Mrid ...

, and accompanied

Sanjukta Panigrahi Sanjukta Panigrahi (24 August 1944 – 24 June 1997) was a classical dancer from India, who was the foremost exponent of Indian classical dance Odissi. Sanjukta was the first Odia woman to embrace this ancient classical dance at an early age a ...

as her co-dancer and percussionist. He was an accomplished choreographer. He founded Orissa Dance Academy in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

in 1975, and Konark Natya Mandap in

Konark Konark is a medium-sized town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometres from the state capital Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Konark Sun Temple, Sun Temple, also ...

in 1986, and also established both the

Konark Dance Festival Konark Dance Festival is a five-day dance festival held every year in the month of December mostly from 1 to 5 in backdrop of the Sun temple in Konark, Odisha in India. It is one of the biggest dance festivals held in Odisha. The exquisite 'Sal ...

(also in 1986) and the

Dhauli Dhauli or Dhauligiri is a hill located on the banks of the river Daya, 8 km south of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. Significance Dhauli is known for "Dhauli Santi Stupa", a peace pagoda monument built by Japan Budhha Sangha and Kalinga ...

dance festival (in 2001), as well as several smaller dance festivals, and ran the Chitralekha Dance Academy Festival in Canada. He was a past president of the Orissa

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

. In his later years, he organised a project to document the folk dance styles of the state.

Personal life and death

Pradhan had a son and three daughters. In early 2010 he underwent an

angioplasty Angioplasty, also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, is a minimally invasive procedure, minimally invasive endovascular surgery, endovascular Medical procedure, procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructe ...

at an

Apollo hospital Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited is an Indian multinational healthcare group headquartered in Chennai. It is the largest for-profit private hospital network in India, with a network of 71 owned and managed hospitals. Along with the eponymo ...

in Bhubaneswar, but he died on 10 October at the age of 62 after a

cerebral haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

Awards and honours

Pradhan was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. The university was established in 1943 and was operating from Ravenshaw College ...

. He was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1998 and the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

(Indian's fourth highest civilian award) in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pradhan, Gangadhar 1948 births 2010 deaths Indian dance teachers Indian classical choreographers Odissi exponents People from Puri district Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Dancers from Odisha 20th-century Indian dancers Teachers of Indian classical dance