Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi Biography 
Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi is a well-known Odissi dancer Orissa. She is also an art writer, a biologist and administrator who served as vice chancellor of Sambalpur University before. She is a recipient of Padma Shri given by government of India, in recognition for the efforts towards the fields of arts and dance forms, and also Odissi Nrutya Sanman. She also holds a doctoral degree in zoology. Priyambada is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, and has authored several books and articles related to dance forms.
She was born on 18 November 1935. As an Odissi dancer, she got noticed for the first time while studying at Ravenshaw College in 1954 when she was chosen to perform Odissi at the First Inter-University Youth Festival. In those days, this art form was not so popular as it is today, and only a few artists performed it on stage for youth festivals and other occasions. She was trained by Singhari Shyama Sundar Kar in Odissi dance at Utkal Sangeet Samaj in Cuttack, and her first performance was an experience in itself, from costumes & makeup to performance. Her guru played pakhawaj for her performance.
Once she presented dance form in front of Governor M. Asaf Ali, the then Governor of Orissa, he bestowed upon her a reward of Rs.50, a big amount in the 1950s. She got selected to compete in the Delhi Youth Festival, and later she received training under Kavichandra Kalicharan Patnaik, known as the father of modern drama. He polished her style and presented her with a good impression in Odissi. She continued with her practices and performances, yet a fellowship to pursue her interests in Zoology lured her to move to US. She continued with her practices there, and continued to perform and teach Odissi after her return to India.
Published: September 19, 2018
Updated: September 19, 2018
