Sutapta Talukdar

Among the well-known Odissi dancers today, Sutapa talukdar was initiated in dance at the Geetabitan school of Dance in Calcutta, learning Manipuri, Bharatanatyam and other styles. In Odissi her initiation was under Muralidhar Majhi, a well-known dance teacher of Calcutta. Subsequently she became a disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra who moulded her into a front-ranking performer.

Over the last fifteen years, Sutapa Talukdar has established herself as a beautiful exponent of Odissi dance. She has taken part in most of the prestigious dance festivals in India; she first attracted attention in 1986, performing in Yuva Utsav, Sangeet Natak Akademi’s festival for dancers of the new generation. She has also performed abroad.

Sutapa has set up her dance school, gurukul, in Calcutta and enjoys a wide following among young learners. She has produced dance-dramas based on works of Tagore and Kalidasa and has experimented with Chhau dance and the Mridanga of Orissa in these presentations.