In 1950, Minati Mishra started learning under Kelucharan Mahapatra, the well-known Odissi guru.
[5] In 1959, she was invited to Switzerland by the International Photographic Association, and performed in Zurich, Lucerne, Geneva and Winterthur.
[5] Three years later, she was awarded a doctoral degree[7] in Indology from the Philipp University of Marburg, Germany for a thesis on Natyashastra.
[9][10][11][12] She also acted in a 1963 Bengali film, Nirjana Saikate in which she has performed an Odissi dance number choreographed by Kelucharan Mahapatra.
[13] Apart from her film career she was also an A Grade artist at the All India Radio and was a recipient of Sangeet Prabhakar title for Hindustani vocal music.