One of the foremost Odissi dance mentors, Pt Rabindra Atibudhi  received the "Gourav Puraskar" from  Sudhir Mungantiwar (Cabinet Minister of Cultural Affairs in the Maharashtra Government ) and in the presence of several other dignitaries on Thursday 2nd February on the occasion of Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi 'Shastriya Sangeet Mahotsav, organised by the cultural department of Maharashtra Government,' for being nominated to be conferred with the prestigious Sangeet Natak “Akademi Award” for the Year 2020 at the premises of P.L Deshpande Academy in Dadar.

On this occasion, all the recipients of the SNA award from the year 2019 and the latest winners  in the field of music, dance drama and cinema were felicitated, The personalities felicitated were Kumar Sohoni, Pandurang Ghotkar, Majid Gulabsaheb, Arti Anklekar, Meena Naik, Nandkishore Kapote, Rabindra Atibudhi, Anup Jalota, Bhushan Lakandri, Uday Bhawalkar, Shama Bhate, Sangeeta Shankar, Prabhakar Bhanudas, Shankar Abhyankar, Padma Sharma, Usman Abdul Khan, Bhikalya Ladkya, and Harishchandra P.

Guru Rabindra Atibudhi was among the foremost mentors to introduce Odissi dance in Mumbai in 1969. He founded Odissi Kalashetra and UIDMAI, Shreekshetra, in 1972 and 1994 respectively and promoted the rich cultural heritage of Odissi by enlightening aspiring students about the art form. Encouraged physically challenged and blind children by teaching Odissi dance and making them perform at the National Association for Blind in Mumbai and spreading the richness of the art form at the state, national and International levels. He also provided an opportunity for aspirants to use their skills, innovations and knowledge to improve performances and encouraging hidden talents in remote areas of the states. He also conducted seminars, camps and workshops in local and outstation areas, abroad, and educational institutions in both urban and rural areas.

Pt Rabindra has been a mentor for more than four decades and taught many renowned personalities in the field of television and cinema.. He has conducted many workshops in the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Kenya, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, UAE, Europe and many more countries.

He was also awarded the ‘Senior Fellowship ’ by the Central Government of India. He has received the ‘Singarmani title’ and ‘World Friendship Award’ in USA. He is also a recipient of the ‘Odissi Sangeet Natak Academy Award’ in the field of Odissi Dance in the year2006 and was also honoured with many more.

He has written about Odissi in the hand book named ‘Handbook of Indian Classical Dance Terminology’ and written a book titled Odissi Nrutya Shastra, which is in progress. His basic objective is to promote Odissi, by maintaining the purity and sensitivity of the Odissi dance form, in terms of its style and technique and enrich it by composing new choreographies based on Orissa's art, culture and literature keeping the basic features of Odissi. 

By Guru Vijay Shankar