Early Life and Background
She was born in Berhampur, Ganjam District, Odisha state, to a traditional Brahmin family of Abhiram Mishra and Shakuntala Mishra.
When she was a small child, she would start dancing intuitively to any rhythmic sound like the sound of chopping of vegetable or cutting of firewood. Her mother was from Baripada and belonged to a family, which had been patronizing chhau folk dance for long. She recognized the talent in her daughter, and encouraged her despite some initial resistance from Abhiram Misra, Sanjukta's father. The reason for the resistance was the fact that in those days this form of dance was performed generally by temple singing girls, called Maharis. Male dancers are called Gotipuas. These girls were like Devadasis in the temples of South India.
Read more about this topic: Sanjukta Panigrahi
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