Deba Prasad Das

Deba Prasad Das was an Indian classical dancer, considered by critics and connoisseurs as one of the four first generation gurus of the Indian classical dance form of Odissi. His Odissi style is robust and unique. He was a recipient of the 1977 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. and 1974 Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Biography Deba Prasad Das was born in 1932 in a Karana family at a small village near Cuttack called Keul Chabi Sua, in the Indian state of Odisha to Indramani Devi and Durga Charan Das, a police officer. He lost his mother at an early age and was brought up by his grandfather who was a local violin player. and the association with Rahman brought Das into public notice when the Rahman took her guru along with her for concerts. and others, and this is known to have brought the Deba Das style of Odissi into public notice.'Sabda Swara Pata' is an important feature of this style of Odissi. and considered by many as one of the four first generation gurus of Odissi, He had many disciples such as Indrani Rahman, Bijayalaxmi Mohanty, Oopali Operajita, Pushpa Mahanti, Srinath Raut, Sudhakar Sahoo, Durga Charan Ranbir, Dhuleswar Behera, Anita Singhdeo, Sangeeta Dash, Sujata Mishra, Ramli Ibrahim, Gajendra Panda, Manoj Behera, Gopa Biswhas, Gayatri Chand, Atashi Tripathy are among many others who have emerged as noted exponents of Odissi. Notable Bharatanatyam guru Leela Ramanathan had also taken Odissi training under him. He has also choreographed many dance dramas and solo numbers.

Deba Prasad Das died on 16 July 1986, aged 54.

Awards and recognitions Recipient of Senior Research Fellowship from the Government of India, Deba Prasad Das also received the World Development Corporation award in 1983 and the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1974. Sangeet Natak Akademi honored him with their annual award in 1977. A book on him and his work "Guru Debaprasad Das: Icon of Odissi" was authored by Gayatri Chand, a senior dancer of Deba Prasad Das style, after 25 years of his demise in 2012.