Deba Prasad Das Biography 
Deba Prasad Das was a renowned Odissi dancer from the state of Orissa. Critics regard him one of the four first generation gurus of the Indian classical dance form of Odissi. He also owned numerous disciples, who later carried forward his tradition. Das was a recipient of numerous honours and awards such as 1977 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, World Development Corporation Award and 1974 Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. He passed away on 16 July 1986. He was only 54 then.
Deba Prasad Das was born in Keul Chabi Sua, Cuttack in the year 1932. Indramani Devi and Durga Charan Das were his parents. His father was a police officer serving British. He lost his mother at an early age and was brought up by his grandfather. His grandfather was a violin player quite popular in the local circle. Das did his early schooling at Puri. By the age of 6 he started learning both music and dance at nearby Pathara Akhara. Following his father’s transfer he moved to Behrampur. At the age of 14 he joined music school of Radha Raman Ray, where he worked on a monthly salary of three rupees and food.
Later he got opportunity to appear in small roles in dance dramas of renowned artist, Pankaj Charan Das, which proved to be a turning point of his life. When New Theatres closed down in 1949, he moved to Annapurna, where he worked with several renowned artists like Pankaj Charan Das, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kumar Dayal Sharan and Mayadhar Raut, which helped him to master the dance form of Odissi.
He joined as a dance teacher at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, a school of dance music in 1964, and taught many students. He was a representative of Gotipua Odissi culture. Das died on 16 July 1986, aged only 54.
Published: January 14, 2019
Updated: January 14, 2019
