Bhubaneswar: Odisha government approved a longstanding proposal for establishing 'Odissi Museum' on premises of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre here.

The Culture department is all set to expand the leading odissi research centre for promotion of the classical dance form.

As per the decision, the women's hostel located atop the research centre will get makeover as the 'Odissi Museum'.

There will be total four galleries at the museum, which will have enough space for existing odissi dance and music videos, photographs, research articles, the clothes and ornaments used by legendary Odissi dancers Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Deb Prasad Das, Pankaj Charan Das and Sanjukta Panigrahi and their dance visuals, said Odissi Research Centre's Chief Executive Sangita Gossain.

A committee comprised of researcher Kishore Basa, University of Culture Vice Chancellor Kamalkant Mishra, Odisssi gurus Aruna Mohanty and Ratikant Mohapatra has been formed for establishing the museum inside the campus at Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre.

The books on odissi dance currently available at the archive inside the centre will be collected and kept at the museum. The visitors will get opportunity to have glimpse of the dance performance of eminent odissi dancers at audio visual gallery of the museum. The photographs of veteran odissi dancers will be available inside the museum, Gossain said.

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre has urged people, who have relevant photographs and visuals regarding Odissi and some collections about Odissi veterans, to provide to the proposed museum. They can contact the research centre authorities in this regard through email: [email protected]

Reports said that the project to set up Odissi Museum will begin soon and will be completed by six months.