Dance little boy dance

poBefore you Tina Charles fans (both of you) start frothing at the mouth and as hard as it might be to believe it, these are little boys. Gotipuas practice the Oriya dance form of Odissi. Inducted at an age when the rest of us are still being chased by mama to shovel another mouthful in for some uncle or cousin, these kids are already training hard, wooing flexibility, perfecting co-ordination.

This particular band of boys hail from a voluntary institution situated at Raghurajpur village, in the home of Guru Maguni Das. Here his wards, attempting to leap frog the poverty line, not only receive an invaluable tutelage in the art of Odissi that becomes their livelihood but also get a normal formal education till the 10th std.

All they ask for in return are contributions from their ephemeral audiences after their spirited contortion driven performances. Actually, they don't even ask. They just stand there, trying desperately to hide their imploring eyes. The watching humanity, as expected clap loudly and melt away to spend a bomb on some trinket or madhubani painting, hardly considering that these children need to be clothed, fed, transported and educated, just like any other kid. The little boys sigh and take five until 20 minutes later, when their next performance begins. A life cycle of penury.


Anyway, if you're from Orissa or in the neighbourhood, perhaps you could change their view of humanity and help them out.

Dasabhuja Gotipua Odishi Nrutya Parishad
Raghurajpur, Chandapur, Puri - 752012
Ph: 9938497487 (Sebendra Das)
email - dasabhujagotipua@yahoo.co.in

I wasn't the only one who captured them. Check out Shutterfly's post and the Barefoot Bandit