Deba Prasad Das

Profile - Deba Prasad Das

He is the one who opened the eyes of those alive to dance to the wonder that is Odissi. In Delhi, followed apace in Lucknow, Bombay, Madurai, Ernakulam, Europe, the USSR, wherever. First alone, and then along with his prize pupil, Indrani Rehman. Shy to the hilt, unfamiliar with projection hype and blissfully unconcerned with how others took him, he wilfully allowed his contemporaries to steal a march over him. He was left behind. Far too behind, in fact. He passed away, quite suddenly, at the age of 54, on 16 July 1986. Unsung. Deba Prasad Das was born in a village near Cuttack. His mother died when he was just two and his father, an actively engaged police inspector, had no time for the boy. Deba Prasad was therefore brought up by his grandfather, Deba Prasad Das MOHAN KHOKAR who was attached to a roving theatre party of his village.

Questions Regarding Compositions

The compositions of Dikshitar too have undergone changes. A number of sangati-s have been added to kriti-s,- like Vatapi Ganapatim in Hamsadhwani and Chintayama in Bhairavi. The kalapramana of some kriti-s like Aiunachalanatham in Saranga have been accelerated. Sree Mahaganapati in Gaula is sung now in Misra Chapu while Sangeeta Sampradaya Piadaisini of Subbarama Dikshitar gives the tala as Tisrajati Triputa.