the Indian IIT-Bhubaneswar is the first IIT institution to include the classical dance form in its course.
In a rare move, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar has included Odissi dance in their BTech curriculum, the first IIT institution to include the classical dance form in its course.
Currently, the dance form is part of the institute's extra academic activities with one credit, it will be included in the breadth course from the next academic session.
"Odissi is the classicial dance of Odisha. So, we thought why not introduce this kind of dance in the extra academic activity course curriculum," said Dr. Akhilesh Kumar Singh, course coordinator.
"For students who like cultural activities, this will be an added advantage," he added.
First year students can opt for Odissi among other activities like sports, National Service Scheme and Yoga. Second and third year students, meanwhile, can choose the classical dance as an elective subject. However, it will be purely optional in final year.
So far, six girls, all from outside Odisha, have enrolled in the dance class which is held once a week.
"BTech is a heavy course, I needed something else to refresh my mind, so I chose Odissi in extra academic activity," says Debjani Bramha, a first-year student.
The institute also plans to rope in Odissi dance exponents to teach the students from the next session.