Guru

Sonali Mohapatra is an accomplished Odissi dancer and a global performer having expertise in the Abhinaya (expression) and Nritta (pure dance) aspects. She started learning Odissi when she was just 4 years old and fell in love with the form. At an early age of 5, Sonali lost a major portion of her hearing. On the left ear, she lost 100% and on the right ear 87% hearing due to unfortunate medical negligence, which remains irreparable. In such a difficult state, with her strong will power she developed the knack for learning Odissi dance. Despite it being a tough challenge to learning any from of dance and music which demands a sufficient command over “Shruti” (Hearing) with “Swara” and “Taal”, Sonali mastered the art form with grace and enthusiasm. Unable to hear music and song properly, she can only make out the rhythm with the help of a hearing instrument. It is through the Taal that she feels the lyrics and the music. Her father has given her the vocal support and helped her understand different Taal and their ”layakariyan” ever since childhood whereas her late mother used to guide, escort and help her in learning the theories of Odissi dance and brought her numerous dance books and magazines. Her elder and younger brothers helped her to develop communication skills and speech. Today she responds to her surroundings by observing lip movement and feeling the vibrations of sound. Starting her early training under the supervision of Guru Smt. Truptimayee Mohanty, she went on to train under the guidance of Guru Shri Durga Charan Ranbir, one of the torch bearers of the Guru Debaprasad style of Odissi. In 1995, she received her higher training in Odissi Dance and completed Visharad and Alankar. In 2011 she was awarded the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar. With her tremendous efforts and dedication, Guru Sri Durgacharan Ranbir’s blessings and goodwill, moral as well as physical support from her family member, she has made a name of being one among the best dancers of Guru Shri Deba Prasad Das gharana. In 2004, she got married to the eminent flute player Shri Ahiram Nanda, a disciple of Guru Shri Mohini Mohan Patnaik and Padmavibhushan Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.