Designation: Assistant professor Email:[email protected] Area: Business Communication
Brief Profile
Maheshwar Kumar is an Assistant Professor at the Birla School of Management, Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, India. He earned his PhD in English from the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, an off-campus centre of Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai. His research spans cultural studies, performance studies, dance studies, cultural anthropology, and South Asian performance traditions, with a particular focus on Purulia Chhau. His scholarship has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Dance Education, Economic and Political Weekly, Asian Theatre Journal, Dance Chronicle, The Oriental Anthropologist, Asian Anthropology, and Performance Research. He is currently serving as the Project Director of an Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)-funded research project on Chhau.
English, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, an OCC of Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India”
PhD Topic: “Performance as Cultural Text: Defamiliarizing the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau”
MA English, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Bachelors
BA(Hons), Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal
UGC NET
English, 2018
Area of Interest and Research
Chhau Dance
Cultural Studies
Performance Studies
Dance Studies
Cultural Anthropology
South Asian Performance Traditions
Folk Theatre
Performing Arts
Heritage Studies
Teaching Courses
UG Level (Theory):
Business Communication and Presentation
Creativity, Communication & Digital Storytelling
English Language and Communication
UG Level (Practical):
Business Communication and Presentation Lab
English Language and Communication Lab
Experience
Assistant Professor, Business Communication, Birla School of Management, Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, August 2025- onwards
Assistant Professor, C. V. Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, May 2024- December 2024
Publications (Web of Science & Scopus)
Kumar, M. (2026). Emerging Women’s Dance Pedagogy in Purulia Chhau: An Interview with Mousumi Choudhury.Journal of Dance Education, 1-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15290824.2026.2637947 (Scopus Q1; CiteScore: 1.6; H-Index: 24)
Kumar, M. (2026). Cultural Labour and the Afterlife of Folk Performance: Rethinking Chhau beyond Heritage.Economic and Political Weekly, 61(24), 71–72. URL: https://www.epw.in/journal/postscript/cultural-labour-and-afterlife-folk-performance.html (ABDC-B; Scopus Q3; CiteScore: 0.6; H-Index: 81)
Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P.K. (2026). Masked-Dance and Audience Reception in the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau.Asian Theatre Journal, 43(1), 209-228. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/atj.2026.a989964 (WoS: AHCI; Scopus Q2; IF: 0.3; CiteScore: 0.3; H-Index: 16).
Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P.K. (2026). Dance as Cultural/Performance Text: Decoding the Cultural Labor of Purulia Chhau in India.Dance Chronicle, 49(1), 223–249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01472526.2025.2581446 (WoS: AHCI; Scopus Q3; IF: 0.5; CiteScore: 0.4; H-Index: 13).
Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P.K. (2024). Ritual, Performance and Spirituality: Revisiting the Performative Cultures of Chaitra Parva and Purulia Chhau in West Bengal.The Oriental Anthropologist, 24(2), 359-384. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0972558X241248273 (Scopus Q2; CiteScore: 1.3; H-Index: 8).
Kumar, M. (2024). Performance as Cultural Text: Defamiliarizing the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau.Asian Anthropology, 24(1), 75-78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1683478X.2024.2384771 (Scopus Q2; CiteScore: 1.2; H-Index: 16).
Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P.K. (2023). Habit as Restored Behaviour in Purulia Chhau: A Vignette.Performance Research, 28(6), 64–68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2023.2334636 (WoS: AHCI; Scopus Q2; IF: 0.2; CiteScore: 0.3; H-Index: 26).
Publications (Book Chapters)
Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P.K. (2026). Women’s Innovations in Chhau Dance: A Case Study on the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau in India. In Eva Aymami-René, Anita Gonzalez, & Kimberly Jew (Eds.), Women’s Innovations in Theatre, Dance, and Performance (Vol. 4: Leaders). Bloomsbury. ISBN: 9781350325807. Forthcoming.
Kumar, M. (2025). Folk Drama and the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau. In Hangseswar Mahato et al. (Eds.), Biswabandita Chhau (pp. 238–255). Manbhum Cultural Academy, Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal. ISBN: 9788198302397.
Publications (Peer Reviewed)
Kumar, M. (2025). Dancing for Themselves: Ritual Celebrations of Chaitra Parva in West Bengal.South Asian Dance Intersections, 4(1), 136–149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55370/sadi.v4i1.2112
Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P.K. (2024). Cultures of Orality and Performativity in the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau.ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 5(1), 124–136. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i1.2024.750
Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P.K. (2024). New Normal, Cultural Shifting and Intellectual Property Rights: An Anthropological Appraisal of Purulia Chhau Dance.Naad-Nartan: Journal of Dance and Music, 12(2), 103–106. URL: http://naadnartan.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Maheshwar-Kumar1.pdf
Research Project (Ongoing)
Project Director
Project:
Chhau Dance at the Crossroads: Performance-Scapes of an Indian Folk Tradition
Funding Agency:
Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)
Editorial Positions and Reviews
Editorial Appointments
1. Guest Editor of ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts
(Scopus-Indexed; ISSN: 2582-7472)
Peer Review Activities
Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices (Intellect)
Space and Culture (SAGE)
Asian Ethnicity (Taylor & Francis)
Frontiers in Sociology (Frontiers Media)
Dance Chronicle (Taylor & Francis)
South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies (Taylor & Francis)
Cogent Arts & Humanities (Taylor & Francis)
Religion & the Arts (Brill)
ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts (Granthaalayah)
Conference Presentations
“Bodies at Work: Cultural Labour and the Chhau Performing Arts in India.” Paper presented at the Dance Studies Association Annual Conference, California State University (Online Individual Paper), 23–25 October 2026.
“Masked-dance and Audience Reception in the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau.” Paper presented at the Theatre and Performance Research Association Annual Conference, University of Warwick (Online Individual Paper), 27–29 August 2025.
“Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau as an Assemblage of Training, Workshop, and Rehearsal.” Paper presented at the 29th Performance Studies International Annual Conference, London (Online Individual Paper), 20–23 June 2024.
“Orality and Performativity of Purulia Chhau in India.” Paper presented at the Association for Asian Studies 2024 Annual Conference, Seattle (Virtual Individual Paper Presentation), 1 March 2024.
“New Normal and Cultural Shifting: An Anthropological Appraisal of Purulia Chhau in the Recent Pandemic.” Paper presented at the World Anthropology Congress: Anthropology in Public Sphere—Indigeneity, Social Justice, Sustainability and Global Peace, organized by the United Indian Anthropology Forum, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, 9–14 August 2023.
“Women’s Innovations in the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau.” Paper presented at the 60th World Congress of Dance Research, organized by the International Dance Council – CID UNESCO, Athens (Distance Conferee), 5–9 July 2023.
“The Role of Masks: An Enquiry into the Make-believe Performances of Purulia Chhau.” Paper presented at the International Conference on “Play, Masks and Make-believe: Ritual Representations”, organized by the London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (Virtual Conference), 4–5 December 2021.
“Invocation for Rain: Understanding the Performative Rituals of Purulia Chhau in West Bengal.” Paper presented at the International Conference on “Theatre Ecologies: Environment, Sustainability and Politics”, organized by the International Federation for Theatre Research, NUI Galway (Virtual Conference), 12–16 July 2021.
Workshops & FDP
Participated in a Five-Day Faculty Development Programme on “Research Methodology”, organized by Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, on 1–5 June 2026.
Participated in a Two-Day Faculty Development Programme on “Outcome Based Education (OBE): Effective Implementation”, organized by Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, on 10–11 January 2026.
Participated in an Eight-Day Faculty Development Programme on “Recent Trends of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Humanities and Social Sciences”, organized by Amity School of Languages, Amity University, Chhattisgarh, on 11–20 August 2025.
Participated in a One-Day Virtual Conclave on “Integrating Humanities in STEM: Suggestions from NEP for S&T Institutes”, organized by NIT Tiruchirappalli, on 10 November 2024.
Participated in a Workshop on “Digital Humanities and Infrastructures: Tools, Archives & Theory”, organized by J. P. Narayan National Centre of Excellence in the Humanities, IIT Indore, on 18–19 September 2024.
Participated in the “Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights”, organized by the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, on 1 November 2023.
Participated in the “UTOPIA’23 Literary Festival”, organized by the Department of English, School of Liberal Arts, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, on 28–29 August 2023.
Participated in the “Memory Studies Workshop”, organized by the Centre for Memory Studies, IIT Madras, on 26–30 April 2021.
Participated in the “IAPAR International Theatre Festival”, organized by the International Association for Performing Arts and Research (IAPAR), Pune, on 4–10 December 2020.
Participated in an International Webinar Series on “Contemporary World Theatre”, organized by the Centre for Performance Research and Cultural Studies in South Asia, on 1–6 November 2020.
Participated in the Workshop on “Research in Culture and Humanities: Methodological Issues and Emerging Trends”, conducted by the Centre for Studies in Cultural Diversity and Wellbeing, Jadavpur University, West Bengal, on 17–23 October 2019.
Professional Associations and Memberships
Dance Studies Association (DSA)
Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA)
Performance Studies International (PSI)
Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
United Indian Anthropology Forum (UIAF)
International Dance Council (CID-UNESCO)
International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR)
