Gopinath Swain

Gopinath Swain was a singer, performer and teacher of Krishna Leela, a sung theatre tradition of Odisha, for about nine decades. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of art, from Odisha ^[1].

A lifetime of Krishna Leela

Swain was born on 15 February 1918 and began learning Krishna Leela at ten from his uncle ^[2]. He went on to sing and play Krishna, and trained under Guru Choudhury Behera in the older style of the form, with long, elaborate passages of raga ^[2]. He specialised in the Krishna Leela composed in Odia by the 18th-century saint Babaji Dukhisyama Dasa, set to Odissi music ^[2].

Over time he took on other roles and became the lead singer, director and guru of his troupe ^[2].

Saving old ragas

Seeing old ragas and songs of the tradition fading, he sought out the oldest living gurus in the 1940s and 1950s to learn what they knew, and in time mastered the entire repertoire ^[2]. He kept singing rare Odissi ragas and collected early manuscripts on the history of the form ^[2]. He also recorded many hours of Krishna Leela for All India Radio, Berhampur ^[2].

He set up and taught in village akhadas, the traditional schools for troupes, across Odisha, and many of his students became gurus themselves ^[2]. He received the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2023 ^[2].

Swain died at his home village in Ganjam district on 2 October 2025, aged 107 ^[3][4].