Legendary Gussadi folk dancer & Padma Shri Kanaka Raju passes away

The legendary Gussadi folk dancer Kanaka Raju, also known as Gussadi Raju, passed away on 25 October 2024 due to age-related ailments. He was 84 years old.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy condoled the demise of the legendary Gussadi folk dance master Kanaka Raju.

Kanaka Raju was born in the  Marlawai village in Jainoor mandal of Komaram Bheem Asifabad district in Telangana. 

Kanaka Raju who belonged to the Raj Gond tribe, learned the Gussadi dance on his own since he was eight years old by watching his tribal community performing the dance.

About the Gussadi Dance

Gussadi dance is performed only by male bachelors of the Raj Gond tribe . The dance is which is associated with a  a local deity,is staged during the Dandari festival. The Dandari festival is held after Deepawali and continues for around 10 days.

The Gussadi dance is a courtship ritual in the matriarchal society of the Raj Gond tribes where the dance tries to impress the prospective bride and her family.

The dancers, also known as Ghusaraks or Ghusadi Tado, wear a cap made of around 1,500 peacock feathers, known as mal boora, and wrap animal skin around their waists. During the dance, the dancers mimic cows, snakes, horses, tribals, dandari and their divinity.

Kanaka Raju has trained over thousands of young tribal dancers in the Gussadi dance form and has singularly kept alive the traditional tribal folk dance.

For his effort in the conservation of the dance form he was awarded the country’s fourth highest civilian award ,Padma Shri in 2021. 

The Telengana State government started a Kanaka Raju School of Gussadi Dance at Adilabad district where Kanaka Raju was made the chief dance master.