Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik unveils the statue of Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, April 7: Six years after not giving him his due, the Orissa government today remembered Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra by naming the Odissi Research Centre (ORC) after the doyen.

In 1998, Mahapatra had requested the JB Patnaik government to give him five acres of land in Bhubaneswar to set up a dance academy. But the state failed to do so, following which the guru started his own dance academy, Srijan, on the outskirts of the city.

In a move that could be seen by many as a ?corrective? measure, the government today renamed the ORC Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra Odissi Research Centre and unveiled an 8-ft bronze statue on the centre premises.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who is also the chairman of the ORC, unveiled the statue. ?Kelubabu was a state treasure and his contribution in the field of art cannot be replaced,? he said.

Assuring that his department would extend all possible help to Odissi research, culture minister Damodar Rout said the guru was ?an ambassador of our culture who took the art form to international standards?.

Mahapatra?s son and Odissi artiste Ratikanta said: ?I am happy that the chief minister acted fast after his announcement to rename the centre last year.?

He added: ?Despite the delay in honouring a world-class artiste like the guru, the initiative has finally been taken and many more seem to be on the cards.?

The statue has been made by local sculptor Biprucharan Mohanty, a friend of the dance guru who wanted to pay homage to Mahapatra through his work.

?In my time, Kelucharan had started gaining popularity and for most of us it was a matter of pride to be associated with him,? he recalled.

The 82-year-old took two months to complete the 8-ft statue of the guru.

Apart from Mahapatra, Sanjukta Panigrahi, one of the finest exponents of the dance form, was also refused land. But Panigrahi, the best-known disciple of the guru, never started a dance school.

The government?s move has given hope to another dance teacher and a contemporary of Mahapatra.

Last year, Guru Gangadhar Pradhan had requested the government for an acre for the construction of a dance school.

Pradhan now hopes that the chief minister will extend his benevolence to him and grant the request for land.