Dhaneswar Swain (; born 18 May 1953) is an exponent and Guru of the Odissi Mardala, the traditional percussion instrument of

Odissi music music () is a genre of classical music in India, originated from the eastern state of Odisha. The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha, Odissi music has a history spanning over two thousand years, authentic ''sangita-shas ...

. He is known for his rhythmic compositions and fingering techniques, as well as his efforts to promote solo

Mardala Mardala () is a classical percussive instrument native to the east Indian state of Odisha, traditionally used as the primary accompaniment in Odissi classical music. The instrument is different from other instruments that might have similar names ...

recitals and group presentations combining traditional percussive instruments of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. He is the founder of ''Vadya Vani Gurukula'', an institution for training and research in Odissi Mardala and other traditional percussion instruments of Odisha. Born in the village of Nahantara in the

Puri district Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one sub-division, 11 tahasils and 11 blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only municipality of the district. Konark, Pipili and Nimapara are the thre ...

to father Sambhunatha Swain and mother Kanchana Swain, he received his initial training in the

from his elder brother Bhramabara Swain. He then joined the

Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya is a performing arts-cum-educational institution in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. History and Accreditation Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya was established by former Chief minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik on 14 April 1964, u ...

in 1970 and trained under renowned Gurus Singhari Shyamsundar Kar and Banamali Maharana. He also learned from Guru Mahadev Rout. After working with the renowned Odissi danseuse

Sonal Mansingh Sonal Mansingh (born 30 April 1944) is an Indian classical dancer and Guru Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancing style. She has been nominated by the President of India to become a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. She is the youngest recipient of ...

for an year, in 1979, he joined the Mahavidyalaya as a Mardala teacher and worked there for over three decades. After retirement, he is engaged in teaching students at the Ramhari Das Odissi Gurukula, Biragobindapur,

. Through

SPIC MACAY ''Spic'' (also spelled ''spick'') is an ethnic slur used in the United States for people from Latin American countries and states. Etymology Some sources from the United States believe that the word ''spic'' is a play on a Spanish-accented pron ...

, Guru Swain has taken Odissi Mardala to many educational institutions across the country. He has accompanied Odissi music recitals. He has also accompanied Odissi dancers since the 1980s, travelling as the primary percussionist, performing all over India and in the United States, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Jordan, and Israel, Dubai. Swain is known for his pioneering efforts in order to present the

as a solo instrument in its own right, and he has given Mardala recitals at various prestigious forums across the country such as the Rajarani music festival, Konarka Natyamandap, Sankat Mochan Festival, Haridas Sangeet Samaroh, All India Radio Sangeet Sammelan and Sangeet Sandhya at the India Habitat Centre. He is an A-grade artist of

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

. He is known for his rhythm compositions for

Odissi dance Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Apart from this, a CD of his rhythmic compositions titled ''Vadya Vani'', comprising three traditional instruments of Odisha namely Mardala, Mrudanga and Khanjani, has received appreciation from connoisseurs of tala. He has published research articles and conducted several workshops on the Mardala. He has been honoured for his work with the title ''Badyashree'' conferred by the Utkal Sahitya Kala Parishad in 1999. For his contributions to

and Odissi Mardala, he received the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2008 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2013.

Articles

Guru Dhaneswar Swain Receiving SNA Award From President of India

Listed below are some research articles authored by Guru Dhaneswar Swain. He is presently authoring a book on Mardala, soon to be published. * ''Odissi Mardala'' * ''Ekaka Badana Ra Srunkhala'' * ''Odissi Sangita Ra Tala'' * ''Mardala : Nrutya Sangita Ra Eka Pramukha Anga'' * ''Tala Hin Sangita Ra Prana'' * ''Odisha Ra Sanskrutika Parampara Re Mardala'' * ''Prachina Tala Paddhati'' * ''Odissi Nrutya Ra Tala Sambhara'' * ''Prayogika Alankara'' * ''Development of Mardala in Odisha''

Awards and recognitions

Sangeet Natak Akademi award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

(2013) * Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award (2008) *Madeli Samman *Gandharva Kala Samman * Debaprasad Kalatirtha, Berhampur (1997) *Utkal Sahitya Kala Parishad,

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

(1999) *Rudrakshya Saptabarnna *Indian Art Research Center * Mahadeb Rout Nakhyatra Gurukula *Sur Singar Sansad, Mumbai *Mardala Academy, Bhubaneswar (2003) *Badya Vinod Kshetramohan Kar Samman (2003) * Sangita Sudhakara Balakrushna Dash foundation (2006, 2018) *Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal (2006) * Singhari Satabarsiki Samman (2008) *Shreekhetra Madeli Sri Samman (2008) *Vedvyas Sangeet Nrutyostav (2009) * Guru Pankaj Samman, Guru Pankaj Charan Odissi Research Foundation (2011) *Guru Srinath Raut Award (2012) *Gangadhara Meher Kala Samman, Gangadhar Meher Pratisthana (2012) * Guru Gopal Panda Odishi Academy (2013, 2015, 2019) *Odissi Bikasa Parisada, Nimapada, Puri (2014) * Sudra Muni Samman (2015) * Jogendranath Pati Smruti Sambardhana (2015) *Guru Birabara Sahoo Prativa Samman (2016) *Guru Debaprasad Samman (2018) * Guru Gangadhar Smruti Samman (2018) *Satyabadi Samman, Satyabadi Sangeet Mahavidyalaya (2018) * Guru Debaprasad Das award (2019) *Nikhila Utkala Sangita Silpi Parisada (2020) *Mahodadhi Samman *

Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja ''Kabi Samrata'' Upendra Bhanja () was a 17th-century Odia poet-composer of classical Odissi music.Mansingha, Mayadhar: ''History of Oriya Literature'': Publisher, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi He is most known for his Odissi songs and kabyas written i ...

Samman *Nikhila Utkala Pala Gayaka Parisad *Sri Nrutya Samman *Bagdevi Samman *Guru Sahadev Padhi Samman *Odisha Dance Akademy

References

External links

YouTube channel of ''Vadya Vani Gurukula'' (containing multiple performance clips of Guru Dhaneswar Swain)
{{Odia culture Odissi music 1953 births Living people Odissi Mardala Mardala players Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award People from Puri district Disciples of Singhari Shyamsundar Kar

Articles

Awards and recognitions

See also

References

External links