Chhau Legend Shyama Charan Pati: Life, Legacy and Padma Shri

New Delhi: Chhau is among India's best-known semi-classical dance forms. Its origins lie in martial arts, folk practices and tribal traditions, and it is most widely practised in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

One dancer contributed greatly to placing Chhau on the international map. Pandit Shyama Charan Pati was that artist. His sixth death anniversary will be marked on Thursday. This report traces his professional achievements and his family life.

Shyama Charan Pati was born in 1940 in Icha village, located in Seraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. His family belonged to an ordinary Brahmin background, and he was the youngest among three brothers. He developed a strong interest in classical dance early in life. Training came under Guru Ban Bihari Acharya, and in Jamshedpur he studied Kathak and Bharatanatyam with the same mentor.

He is counted among the leading performers of the Seraikela tradition of Chhau. He was linked with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) through a Chhau dance troupe. He also functioned as a member of the governing body of the Central University of Jharkhand.

Pati had two children, Sushmita Pati and Debashish Pati. Sushmita, like her father, is a skilled Chhau dancer.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2006 for helping take Chhau to national and international recognition. On October 29, 2020, he died at the age of 80 in a hospital in Ranchi. His unforgettable contribution to the arts ensures that he will always be remembered.