Professors of Practice

Gurubari Sisa, ethnically from the Gadaba tribe of Koraput disitrict is a famed artiste of the indigenous dance form called Dhemsa. An exponent of this dance form, she has worked into it much variation. She has been teaching the Dhemsa dance to generations of young men and women of her tribe. She has performed many a time at functions organized by the Government of Odisha and won many accolades. As a Professor of Practice at KISS-DU she will teach the students the aesthetics and skills of Dhemsa dance.

Smt. Laxmi Sabar from Rayagada district is a traditional healer. She worships the gods and goddesses of her tribe and performs various rites of worship. She offers prayers to her divinities for the health and well-being of her community.

Sri Pabitra Patra, an inhabitant of Belghar, Kandhamal district, is an expert on Herbal Medicine and therapeutics. He has been treating patients with his home-made medicaments of plant extracts. Because of the good results people from near and far flock to him and very highly regard him. He has planted as many as two-hundred medicinal plants in his garden. KISS-DU acknowledges the invaluable contribution of Sri Patra in the field of indigenous medicinal knowledge and has appointed him a Professor of Practice of Herbal Medicine.

Smt. Shinde Wadaka lives in the village of Khajuri in the district of Rayagada. She is a noted weaver of the shawls that Dongaria Kandha men and women wear. The shawls with vibrant multi-coloured patterns and wonderful texture signify the ethnicity of her tribe. Besides that, she can teach the dance of Dongaria Kandhas.

Sri Laxman Sabar, a native of Rayagada district, is an exponent of the Saura Idital painting. In childhood, he loved to watch the walls of his community adorned with beautiful murals. Since childhood, he made up his mind to be a traditional painter. In the good old days, the Idital painters and muralists were held in great esteem. On the walls plastered with ochre-coloured earth, figures of the sixty-two divinities and their vehicles are painted in white with the powder of pounded rice. Sabara painting is a ritualized act, and Sri Sabar is an accomplished painter and conversant with the traditional pieties and rituals.

Smt. Samabari Sisha, an inhabitant of the Bandiguda village of Malkangiri, is an accomplished craftswoman of the ornaments worn by Bonda women. She uses a special kind of thread prepared out of a plant extract to string the coloured beads into a necklace. Among other things, the colourful and alluring necklaces also serve as the markers of the ethnic identity of Bonda women.

Professor of Practice (Santal Dance (Danta))

Shri Dakhina Murmu, ethnically a Santal, is from Mayrbhanj. He is a well-known exponent of the Danta dance of the Santal tribe. It is a martial dance form in which the youth participate with the traditional weaponries.

Sri Limbadhar Majhi belongs to the Kutia Kandha tribe and hails from Kandhamal district. He has been teaching the ethnic music of his tribe for decades. As a Professor of Practice he will teach the students of KISS-DU the Kutia Kandha dance form and the about musical instruments which the people of his tribe play while performing the dances.

Professor of Practice (Ho Language (Warang Chiti))

Shri Kanda Charan Naik belongs to the Ho tribe, and is an expert of Warang Chiti script, the written form of the Ho tribe. He teaches the Ho language to the tribal youth and has dedicated his life to the development of his language. Currently, he teaches Warang Chiti to the KISS-DU students.

Sardar Shri Hari Juang is from the Juang tribe of Kendujhar. As evident from the honorific Sardar, he is the chief or headman of his tribe. He commands everyone’s respect in his tribe and adjudicates on all important affairs of his community. He is also a noted exponent of Changu musical instruments and traditional Juang music.

Professor of Practice (Gond Dance (Dandar / RelaRela) )

Shri Masuram Gond is from Nabrangpur, and he belongs to the Gond tribe. He is a senior and renowned vocal artiste at All India Radio, Jeypore. He does not just teach songs, but also trains the youth in Dandar and Rela Rela dances of his tribe.

Shri Kuda Naik is a dehuri (tribal priest) of the Bathudi tribe from Kendujhar. He officiates the ceremonial pieties and is affiliated to the most sacred Badam ( Athara Deula) which is situated at Simlipal. He teaches Bathudi songs and dances.

Professor of Practice (Oraon Dance (Karma))

Shri Somme Toppo is from the Oraon tribe of Sundargarh and an accomplished Karma dancer. He has been teaching the Oraon young men and women the Karma dance form.

Sri Sobharam Padhan is from the Kisan tribe of Sambalpur. He has been teaching the traditional Kissan dance called Naadu Nalna and has popularized this dance form all over Odisha.