Aditya Prasad Dash
A scientist who has worked on malaria, filariasis and other diseases of the poor, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.
- Padma Shri 2022
- Odisha
Heroes from Odisha
People from the state of Odisha whose work we have profiled.
Showing 1–24 of 29 heroes
Adwaita Charan Gadanayak
An Odisha-born sculptor known for the National Police Memorial and for leading the National Gallery of Modern Art, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
- Padma Shri 2025
- Odisha
Antaryami Mishra
An Odia writer and researcher whose work helped make the case for Odia's classical language status, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.
- Padma Shri 2023
- Odisha
Ashok Kumar Mahapatra
A neurosurgeon who spent four decades at AIIMS Delhi and set up AIIMS Bhubaneswar as its founding director, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
- Padma Shri 2025
- Odisha
Bhagabat Padhan
A guru of Sabda Nrutya, a mythological dance form of western Odisha, who has trained more than 600 artists since 1974, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.
- Padma Shri 2024
- Odisha
Binod Kumar Pasayat
A Sambalpur barber who became one of the best-known poets and songwriters in Sambalpuri, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024. He died in 2025.
- Padma Shri 2024
- Odisha
Binod Maharana
A Puri artist who has practised and studied Pattachitra painting for 50 years and trained over 300 artists, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.
- Padma Shri 2024
- Odisha
Charan Hembram
A Santali teacher from Mayurbhanj who helped set up nearly 2,000 Ol Chiki schools across Odisha, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
- Padma Shri 2026
- Odisha
Daitari Naik
A tribal farmer from Keonjhar who spent years cutting a canal from the Gonasika hills with a hoe and crowbar, bringing water to dry farmland.
- Padma Shri 2019
- Odisha
Durga Charan Ranbir
A senior Odissi guru whose school in Bhubaneswar has trained generations of dancers in India and abroad, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
- Padma Shri 2025
- Odisha
Gopinath Swain
An Odisha guru of Krishna Leela who sang and taught the tradition for nine decades, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024. He died in 2025, aged 107.
- Padma Shri 2024
- Odisha
Krishna Mohan Pathi
An orthopaedic surgeon who turned a stretch of jungle in Ganjam into a free hospital for nearby villages, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Odisha
Krishna Patel
A Sambalpuri folk singer whose duet 'Rangabati' became one of Odisha's best-loved songs, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.
- Padma Shri 2023
- Odisha
Maguni Charan Kuanr
A rod puppeteer from Keonjhar who kept Odisha's kandhei nacha alive through decades of hardship, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023. He died in 2024.
- Padma Shri 2023
- Odisha
Mahendra Kumar Mishra
An Odisha folklorist who led schooling in 21 tribal mother tongues and won a UNESCO language award, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
- Padma Shri 2026
- Odisha
Nanda Prusty
A Jajpur teacher known as Nanda Sir who taught villagers free under a tree for 75 years, honoured with the Padma Shri at 102 in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Odisha
Narasingha Prasad Guru
A retired headmaster who compiled a 17,000-word Koshali-Odia dictionary and has championed the Koshali language; Padma Shri, 2022.
- Padma Shri 2022
- Odisha
Patayat Sahu
A traditional healer from Kalahandi who has grown a garden of about 3,200 medicinal plant varieties on his own land, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2023.
- Padma Shri 2023
- Odisha
Pramod Bhagat
A para-badminton player from Bargarh who won Paralympic gold in Tokyo and five world titles, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.
- Padma Shri 2022
- Odisha
Pratibha Ray
An Odia novelist and Jnanpith laureate, author of Yajnaseni, whose fiction ranges from city life to tribal communities, honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2022.
- Padma Bhushan 2022
- Odisha
Prativa Satpathy
An Odia poet, critic and translator whose 20 collections explore women's lives, a Sahitya Akademi award winner, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
- Padma Shri 2025
- Odisha
Purnamasi Jani
A Kui poet from Kandhamal whose devotional songs carry messages against superstition and child marriage, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Odisha
Rajat Kumar Kar
An Odia scholar who commentated on the Puri Rath Yatra on radio and TV from 1958 and revived the Pala art, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Odisha
Sarat Kumar Patra
An ikat weaver from Nuapatna who spent seven years weaving the whole Gitagovinda onto a 52-metre cloth, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
- Padma Shri 2026
- Odisha