NRO urges CM for recognition of Ghumura dance

The Pioneer, July 31, 2010
PNS, Bhubaneswar
Noted Non-Resident Odia (NRO) Digambara Patra has written an e-mail to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urging him to give due weightage to Ghumura folk dance form and its exponents while recommending artistes for the prestigious Padmashri award.

While Odissi, Chhau, Ranapa and other folk dance forms have been getting national recognition, Ghumura lacks patronage from the State Government, he lamented asking whether scholars of Ghumura lack political lobby or the form belongs to KBK and does not belong to a particular region continuously favoured by the Odisha State.

Ghumura is more popular than Ranapa and it is much ahead of many other dance forms in Odisha in terms of popularity of folk dance and it is more scholarly researched, cultivated and has a history of at least a 1,000 years, he remarked in his mail, a copy of which has also been sent to the President of India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, State Department of Culture and all MPs from Odisha.

Alleging favoritism by various Chief Ministers towards their home district Ganjam in the name of south Odisha, he lamented that the Government was not giving equal recognition to Ghumura and its scholars.

Ghumura is one of the most sought after and leading folk dance forms in Odisha.

It is classified as a folk dance but it bears more resemblance with other classical dance forms of India and the dance is not limited to tribal only, he said.

The dance is associated with social entertainment, relaxation, love, devotion and friendly brotherhood among all class, creed and religion in the present days and can be classified as classical dance, he advocated.

Ghumura dance is still popularly hidden in the village level in south Odisha, western Odisha, central Odisha and some parts of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Kalahandi is mainly known as land of Ghumura and has taken a leading rule in popularising and retaining its unique identity of Ghumura dance.

Ghumura dance has got the opportunity to represent the nation in various international events worldwide, he said.