Bhubaneswar, April 9: Tributes were paid to Kelucharan Mohapatra at a programme last evening to mark his 11th death anniversary.

Well-known dancer Ileana Citaristi hosted the dance programme remembering Guruji. The Italian-born Odissi danseuse also released her autobiography on the occasion.

The evening of dance was organised by Ileana's dance institute Art Vision where she and her disciples staged a ballet based on a romantic tale of Radha and Krishna. Titled Maanabhanjana, the item was an episode from the many stories of mythological lovers that highlighted how an upset Radha would not forgive Krishna for his flirtatious ways with the other gopis. Krishna however, wins her over with his wit.

Well-known young dancer Saswat Joshi and Ileana's students were seen enacting the various characters in the dance drama. Saswat as the clever and lovable Krishna earned the audience's praise.

"It was a wonderful presentation. The fact that Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra used to perform it as a 'rasalila' and it was originally composed by the founder of Odia cinema Mohan Sundar Deb Goswami makes the composition even more special," said Pratham Bhuyan, a viewer.

Art Vision has been holding the annual event for eight years now to pay obeisance to the doyen of Odissi dance. Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, known for his effortless dance and being a pioneer in popularising Odissi as a classical dance form worldwide, passed away on April 7, 2004. Almost all the top Odissi dancers and gurus of today were his students at some point.

The occasion was also used to release Ileana's autobiography - My Journey, A Tale of Two Birds. Famous writer Manoj Das was present to launch the book. The dancer, who has been living in Odisha for many years now, shares her experiences after coming to India and learning dance.

"It also talks about life before I came to India. The two lives of mine are like two birds. You will find this in the book. I have also written about how my life changed after meeting Guruji," Ileana said.