Jhelum Paranjape

Jhelum Paranjape is a Mumbai-based Odissi dancer, choreographer, teacher and the founder-director of Smitalay. Born on 1954-09-24 in Mumbai, she encountered dance early through the Rashtra Seva Dal Kalapathak, performing folk-dance-based ballets from childhood. Her mother initially enrolled her in Bharatanatyam and Kathak classes, but Odissi became her artistic home after she saw Kelucharan Mohapatra teaching in Cuttack and was deeply impressed by Sanjukta Panigrahi's performance in Mumbai.

She began formal Odissi training with Shankar Behera in 1977 and subsequently became a long-term disciple of Kelucharan Mohapatra. Her training included workshops in Mumbai and sustained study with Mohapatra in Cuttack; she also learned Odia to engage more closely with the form and its cultural context. Her work remains grounded in the Kelucharan Mohapatra tradition of Odissi, while her choreography has explored Marathi, Hindi and Hindustani-music settings without abandoning Odissi movement vocabulary.

In 1989, she founded Smitalay in Mumbai in memory of her childhood friend Smita Patil. Through Smitalay, she has taught Odissi across social and economic backgrounds, developed dancers, created group versions of traditional repertoire, and made dance productions addressing subjects such as mathematics, water conservation, women's education and social questions. Her notable works include Leelavati, Jalasri, Meghadoot, Savitri Vadatey, Jani Mhaney, Maeri, Bollywood Hungama Odissi Ishtyle and Sthityantar.

Her performance, teaching and choreographic career has included solo recitals, group work, lecture-demonstrations and appearances at major Indian dance venues and festivals. She remains active as an Odissi mentor and artistic director: in 2025 she led Smitalay's 22nd Sanjukta Panigrahi Yuva Mahotsav in Mumbai, and in June 2026 she participated in an Odissi discussion at Orissa Dance Academy's Subarnima celebrations in Bhubaneswar.