Bhubaneswar, June 3: Odisha, widely known for Odissi dance, has always been a prominent centre of culture with each of its district having one indigenous dance style.

To promote such cultural diversity, Nartanam dance journal has published Folk Dances Of Odisha, a one-of-a-kind document on almost all aspects of Odia folk art forms.

The book is replete with colourful photos including rare ones from private collections. The book touches upon versatile themes revolving around the folk dance forms through articles by scholars and critics. The socio-economic aspects, history behind the cultural evolution, adaptations and changes over time as well the present scenario of these art forms - the book speaks of all of these.

Renowned critic Sunil Kothari has written about Gotipua dance that has evolved from the Jagannath cult. The article gives details about when this dance is performed, how the dancers are trained and even how the make-up and costumes are done. Kothari also covers Sabdaswarapata, a unique dance form of west Odisha.

Besides, artiste Ileana Citaristi contributed articles on Chhau and Paika dances. The book also features articles by art enthusiast Suresh Balabantaray, who died last year, on lesser-known folk dance forms such as Prahlad natak, Bharat leela and some famous ones such as Chaiti ghoda, Pala and Daskathia. Kedar Mishra has given an elaborate overview of the folk dance forms across the state while Sanjeev Kumar Nayak has written about Danda nata.

Besides dance styles, a detailed article on the folk performing arts such as puppetry has also been written by Gauranga Charan Dash.

Madhavi Puranam, one of the publishers of the project, said: "We also plan to help dance enthusiasts understand the situation of the folk artistes and also wish to raise issues that are ailing the culture ministry."

The book was launched last month and will be available on orders only.