Priyambada Hejmadi

🪔 About

Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi is a pioneering Indian classical Odissi dancer, distinguished scientist, academician, and author, born on November 18, 1939. She is widely recognized for her pivotal role in bringing Odissi dance to national and international attention. Hejmadi began her rigorous training in Odissi at an early age under Guru Ban Bihari Maiti and further honed her artistry under the tutelage of Singhari Shyama Sundar Kar at Utkal Sangeet Samaj in Cuttack. Her dance was also polished by Kavichandra Kalicharan Patnaik, who composed a song for her abhinaya. Her seminal performance at the First Inter-University Youth Festival in New Delhi in 1954 was a landmark event, drawing the attention of renowned art critic Charles Fabri and significantly contributing to the discovery and subsequent popularization of Odissi as a classical dance form. Beyond her profound contributions to dance, Priyambada Hejmadi pursued an equally illustrious career in science. She earned both a master's and a doctoral degree in zoology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, specializing in developmental biology and endocrinology. She dedicated many years to academia, serving as a professor in the Department of Zoology at Utkal University from 1961 to 1998, including a tenure as Head of the Department. Her administrative leadership extended to her role as the former Vice-Chancellor of Sambalpur University. A Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, she has published extensively in both scientific journals and cultural literature, authoring authoritative books on Odissi dance, such as "Odissi: An Indian Classical Dance Form" and "Gotipuas-the Boy Dancers of Odisha". Her multifaceted career has been recognized with numerous prestigious accolades, including the Padma Shri for Science and Technology in 1998 and the highest central award for culture, the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, in 1996. She continues to contribute to the cultural field through her writings on Odissi and related subjects. Awards & Honours: Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1996), Padma Shri (1998), Utkalika Award (1997), Odisha Sahitya Academy Award (1997), Sarala Award (2012), Governor's Plaque (Odissi Dance), Odissi Nrutya Sanman (2013), Upendra Bhanja Award, Nritya Saraswati Samman, Nritya Bharati Samman.