Guru Mayadhar Raut, famous Odissi dancer passed away on February 22 in New Delhi. 

• Guruji, as Mayadhar Raut was respectfully addressed by all, was born in the village of Kantapanhara in Cuttack district on July 6, 1930.
• At the age of seven, he became a part of Kalicharan Patnaik’s troupe Sakshi Gopal Natya Sangh.
• He was later absorbed into Kali Babu’s Orissa theatres and got more prominence as a dancer.
• It was in a play on the life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that Mayadhar Raut, along with another boy, performed the Gotipua dance of Odisha on the professional stage.