Two To Tango: Sujata Mohapatra and Preetisha Mohapatra

Two To Tango: Sujata Mohapatra and Preetisha Mohapatra

When both the mother and daughter follow the same passion, their chemistry is bound to be exciting and fun. One such duo is Odissi dancer Sujata Mohapatra and her daughter Preetisha.

They have been sharing the passion for dance for more than two decades now. 

When Sujata was expecting, she hoped that her child would also understand, feel and express dance as she did. “By God’s grace, Preetisha understands and loves dance exactly how I had hoped for. She understands my love, passion and struggles and supports me unconditionally. Our destination and goal are the same. Our dance is our drive and that is our biggest bond,” said a proud Sujata. 

However, their serious drive for dance doesn’t mean they don’t share lighter moments. This dancing duo too has their share of fun moments and madness that makes their relationship effervescent and contagious. 

“Preetisha enjoys dance with all her heart. After our practice sessions when all are exhausted, my husband Ratikanta plays the pakhawaj to some random taal or rhythm and then Preetisha gets into full form and dances her heart out with her own choreography while making funny moves. This gets the entire class rolling with laughter. I call it pagala dance (mad dance). These hilarious moments are the best de-stressing process that a mother can ask for,” she adds.

On her part, Preetisha finds the unrehearsed duets with her mother being the most funny. “Many times we don’t find time to rehearse before a duet performance. Our last performance was actually hilarious. I found out on the morning of the performance that me and mom will be performing the Megh Pallavi. We just discussed the choreography and then we were on the stage without a single rehearsal. Even though we were in sync, I find these little moments with my mother funny,” she quipped.

Although Preetisha scores well in her class and is turning out to be a very good Odissi dancer, there are some things that her mother nags about. Sujata does not like her spending a lot of time on the phone, internet and with friends. “Because of these distractions she gets delayed in her regular schedule of things. Being her mom and a teacher, I would want her to be more disciplined which is very important for a dancer,” shared the disciplinarian Sujata.

Preetisha feels that it is difficult to match her mother’s expectations. She said with a mischievous smile, “I am a lazy person but I have my own level of dedication for my dance. I find it difficult to be at par with my mother’s dedication and determination. Although there is still hope and I do strive towards being more disciplined.” 

Apart from the little disagreements and pantomimes, this mother-daughter duo has created a place for themselves in the world of Odissi dance that is only going to make their bond stronger like a divine rhythm. While Sujata feels joy to see her daughter on stage, Preetisha feels blessed to be able to understand her mother’s love through Odissi.