D Prakash Rao is a tea seller who is committed to improve the quality of life of slum kids by running a school exclusively for them. The government recognised his selfless work by honouring him with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of the country. Sujata Mohapatra, the daughter-in-law of legendary Odissi exponent Kelucharan Mohapatra, is working tirelessly to spread the classical dance form across the globe. Her efforts were honoured with Sangeeta Nataka Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition for a practising artiste, making Odias proud. A lot has already been said and written about these two achievers, but Sunday POST spent some time with them to discover some little known stories of their lives.
D Prakash Rao
He is 61, but for this famous tea seller, age is just a number. He is as exuberant as any young man half his age. His grit and determination has brought about a change in the lives of those children who could have ended up as child labourers or child brides. He is a model of what one can achieve through sheer willpower. The Sunday POST team was pleasantly surprised during a visit to Prakash’s school that has been functioning in a slum at Buxi Bazaar in Cuttack since 2000. No stagnant pools of water and no heaps of garbage and stink that are normally associated with Indian slums, the school and its surroundings were clean. None of his kids is involved in unethical practices which is common in other slums, he claimed. The children were busy with school activities but didn’t forget to welcome us with folded hands. However, the scenario was vastly different just a decade ago. Prakash now brims with joy after the national recognition for his work which has given a new purpose to the life of slum children.
He said, “Gone are the days when the children of this slum used to work as house helps to supplement their family earnings. No child is sitting idle at home now or roaming around aimlessly.”
In the beginning when he asked the parents to send their children to his school, they were furious. Educating them makes no sense when there is no food to eat at home, said the angry parents. However, Prakash’s efforts over the years yielded results, and today, the parents who were once hostile are happily sending their children to the school. The students are also given meals (rice and dalma) at the school. They are mainly taught the foundation course so that it becomes easier for them to pick up the lessons in higher classes, he said.
Shedding light on the unknown chapters of his life, Prakash continued: “My father fought in World War II and returned to Odisha in 1947. But he had to struggle for 13 years to get a job. In the meantime, he left for Kolkata where he worked as a welder in the dockyard. It was former Chief Minister the late Biju Patnaik who spotted him and hired him for the Kalinga group of industries owned by him. But he lost his job when many employees were laid off. Later, in 1960, he started a tea shop in Buxi Bazaar, Cuttack, to earn a living. He borrowed Rs 5 from a friend to start the shop near Samaj office. I was then only six years old. My father asked me to join his tea shop. He never really encouraged me to attend school, saying it would yield nothing good. Forced to sell tea along with my father, I never gave up on my interest to learn.”
Recounting his school days, Prakash said, “I would attend the classes four or five days in a month and start preparation three days before examinations. However, I scored 80 per cent. I couldn’t afford a notebook at that time. So, I collected torn papers from various offices and wrote my lessons. I used to be caned for remaining absent. Neither my class teacher nor headmaster bothered to ask me the reason for my absence. Still I managed to earn a scholarship in Class V. I could not sit for the matriculation examination because I failed to arrange the fees of Rs 42. I was forced to quit school midway in Class XI due to family constraints, despite being very good at studies. However, by that time, I had understood the importance of education and this led me to start a primary school for slum children in the name of ‘Asha O Aswasana’ (Hope and Assurance).
Today, the school has 80 children whose parents mostly are rickshaw pullers and domestic workers, the bottom rung of India’s employment pyramid. “It doesn’t matter where you belong in the economic strata, it is important that every child gets educated,” he explains.
Unable to complete his studies because of financial difficulties, Prakash now lives his dreams through the children living in slums. He doesn’t want these children to lag behind in studies just because they don’t have money.
“I spend most of what I earn from the tea stall in the school. Along with proper heath care facilities, I provide my students with afternoon meals cooked by me,” he said.
The school that started in a room in his house has grown with help from a few generous people in the city. Now the school has a classroom and office room along with a small play school for nursery kids. The school has Classes I to III and after completing primary schooling here, students are sent to other schools for higher studies.
Prakash is also a regular blood donor. He said, “In 1976, I was diagnosed with a tumour and paralysis at the same time. As I was in a critical state, doctors Sanatana Das and Bhabani Shanker Das operated upon me. Doctors asked my family to arrange a bottle of blood. In those days, people hardly came forward to donate blood. My family found it hard to arrange a donor. When I recovered, I learnt that someone had donated blood to save my life. I got discharged after six months’ stay at SCB Medical College and Hospital. If am alive today and leading a meaningful life, it is because of SCB. It gave me a new lease of life. That’s why I felt I should pay back. Since then, I have been donating blood every 90 days. So far, I have donated blood 200 times and donated platelets 17 times. I have a squad of blood donors who are ready to help at any time. Besides, I provide free boiled water and milk to patients.”
On how life has changed after getting Padma Shri, Prakash said, “People have started asking for tea with respect. I was at SCB when I got a call from the PMO about the award. My life has changed since the announcement was made. Cricketer Gautam Gambhir has invited me for an interview at IIM, Hyderabad. It’s really a matter of pride for me.”
His one sorrow is that the slum in which he runs his school has not been given any name by the government. “People residing here are from Andhra Pradesh but they have been here for decades. They are doing yeomen service for their home city. They clean the drainage and do their bit to keep the city clean. However, the state government is yet to offer an identity to the slum.”
Sujata Mohapatra
Sujata Mohapatra does not need any introduction. As the disciple and daughter-in-law of the late Guru Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, she inherited his devotion and passion for the classical dance form. Her graceful movements perfectly epitomise the technical perfection of the Kelucharan Mohapatra gharana. Widely travelled all over the world as a soloist, she has also been a lead dancer in most of her guru’s beautifully choreographed productions.
Sujata made her foray into the dancing arena in her early childhood when her interest in dance was nurtured by her parents. She said, “My mother was a music teacher. She was my first teacher who taught me Odissi when I was four. At the age of six, I started learning Odissi under the tutelage of Guru Lingaraj Behera and Guru Sudhakar Sahu.”
Meanwhile, she completed her schooling from Police High School and graduated from Fakir Mohan College. While she was pursuing PG in Ravenshaw, her father told her about an advertisement seeking Odissi dancers. “I went there to be judged by chief executive of Odissi Research Centre Kumkum Mohanty. When Guruji met me for the first time, his first question was, ‘Kali (for my dark complexion), where are you from?’ When I replied, Balasore, his expression changed and he said, ‘Balesoria tautoria,’ which means people of Balasore are liars.”
“I have good memories of my initial days. I created a special place in Guruji’s heart because of my sense of discipline. Hailing from a teacher’s family, I was well-behaved unlike other trainees. He was looking for a sincere and obedient student who would listen to him. I became Guruji’s favourite because I never argued with him. I still remember the day when he asked me, ‘Will you be my daughter-in-law?’ I do not know when I developed this father-daughter bonding with him. Being an ardent student of my Guru, I was always apprehensive about the fact that I would have to part with him following my marriage. But when my Guru offered me a proposal, I said yes without any hesitation. It was indeed a blessing in disguise for me.”
“Guruji never complained. He kept working. He believed in karma and his karma was his dharma. I never started my day without seeking his blessings. He was the person who used to draw an image of Goddess Kali before my performance. When he passed away, I failed to draw that image like him. I used to cry, thinking of him all the time. All I want to say is he was a perfectionist.”
In recognition of her contribution to the field of Odissi, Sujata has been honoured with the Pandit Jasraj Award from Mumbai, the Mahari Award from the Pankaj Charan Das Foundation, the second Sanjukta Panigrahi Award from Washington DC, the Raja award from Raja Foundation, New Delhi and the Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award, among others. She is also an Outstanding Category Artist in ICCR and Top Grade Artist of Doordarshan.
Apart from being an excellent performer; Sujata Mohapatra is also actively involved in teaching Odissi. Presently, she is the Principal of ‘Srjan’ (Odissi Nrityabhasa), a prime Odissi dance institution founded by Kelucharan Mohapatra. “Guruji’s choreography had a devotional quality because the strength of his devotion to God flavoured all of his work. While dancing, he took the audience to a divine realm. He used to give one advice: surrender yourself to the divine power and you will connect to God.”
On being asked whether she has got any disciple like Guruji had found her, she said, “I am able to dance and do all sorts of work even though I have reached 50. My students love and adore me. But when I will have a problem in moving or become disease-stricken, I will look for my true disciple.”
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP