Sujata Mohapatra loves life in all its forms

Accomplished Odissi dancer Sujata Mohapatra tells TOI that she is fiercely independent and loves living life on her own terms
Teaching Odissi dance is a part of my life and I love it. I am inspired by my Guru who made a dancer out of me and whose lessons are extremely precious for me. So I want to follow his footprints and continue the legacy of grooming excellent Odissi dancers.I get so involved in teaching that even sometimes I spend my whole day with my students. It gives me immense pleasure to share my knowledge in Odissi with my students so that they can be more perfect while they perform.
Family is the basic root of our lives. One can achieve high social status but no one on this earth can or should avoid his/her family. For me, wherever I go, my family remains a priority. Being a professional artist, it’s difficult for me to stay at home 24/7. Yet, I try to spend some quality time with my family when I stay at home. It brings me peace. Being a woman and an artist, I think it’s my duty to generate love and pleasure. My family has taught me to share love with everybody. They are the reason I am what I am.
I have been doing the surya puja since my childhood. It gives me a sense of tremendous power. The sun is the source of energy. Praying to the sun god every morning gives me positive energy. Every day after having my shower, I perform the surya puja. Even when I am abroad for professional commitments, I never forget to perform the surya puja. I believe, the way the sun god lights up the whole world, he will also make me sparkle. It feels like the sun rays empower me to show the light of knowledge to my students.
Since I am a dancer, I must develop my spiritual bent of mind for which yoga is a perfect medium. It makes your life more disciplined. I have learnt yoga from some foreigners. For an artist, it helps to balance mental and physical acts. For me, yoga is one of the methods of achieving spiritualism. It does away with all mental disturbances.
Being a dancer, one has to be careful about the diet. I am a great foodie and I love preparing delicious dishes too. Though I eat every kind of food, the non-veg items are my favourite. I eat non-vegetarian dishes twice a week. So when I’m home, I prepare non-veg dishes. My specialities are various preparations made with fish or chicken.
In Odisha, all the daughters and daughters-in-law draw jhoti on various holy occasions. So, when I stay at home, I paint jhoti in front of the house. I love to decorate it. Jhoti is not only used for pujas, but also for decorating the house. On holy occasions like Manabasa, you will find these beautiful paintings at every Odia home. There is a special demand for these kind of paintings in Odisha as they are believed to be sacred. When I visit other places and see jhoti paintings there, I try to learn the patterns so that I can replicate them in my own house.
The reason why I have a scooty is because it makes me self-dependent. I don’t have to wait or depend on the availability of my driver. I prefer doing the things on my own. So, if I have any work nearby, I take my scooty out. I love riding it. Even I used to take my daughter to her school on this scooty. I had bought it with my own income and it’s more precious to me than an aeroplane. When I go for shopping or need a little “me time”, I bring out my scooty. These impromptu rides give me immense pleasure.