Brief Profile

Maheshwar Kumar is an Assistant Professor in the Birla School of Management at the Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, India. He holds a PhD from the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, an Off-Centre Campus of Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), India. His PhD thesis is entitled “Performance as Cultural Text: Defamiliarizing the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau.” His current research articles have been published in Performance Research (Taylor & Francis), The Oriental Anthropologist (Sage), and Asian Anthropology (Taylor & Francis). His primary areas of research interest are Purulia Chhau, Cultural Studies, Theatre & Performance Studies, Dance Research, Cultural Anthropology, and Indigenous Culture.

• Educational Qualifications
  

  PhD

  • English, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, an OCC of Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India on  “Performance as Cultural Text: Defamiliarizing the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau”

  Master

  • 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
  
  • Business Communication
  • Chhau Dance
  • Cultural Studies
  • Performance Studies
  • Dance Research
  • Indian Folk Theatre
  • Performing Arts
  • Cultural Anthropology
  • Indigenous Culture
• Teaching Courses
  
  • Creativity, Communication & Career Success
  • English Language and Communication
  • English Communication Skills
• 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
• Research Papers
  
  • 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).
  • 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).
  • 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).
  • Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P. K. (2025). Masked-dance and Audience Reception in the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau. Accepted in Asian Theatre Journal (WoS: AHCI; Scopus Q2).
  • Kumar, M., Nayak, A., & Swain, P. K. (2023). Women’s Innovations in Chhau Dance: A Case Study on the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau in India. Book Chapter Accepted in the edited series “Women’s Innovations in Theatre, Dance, and Performance”, vol. 4: Leaders, co-edited by Eva Aymami-Rene, Anita Gonzalez, and Kimberly Jew, A Bloomsbury Series: https://www.womens-innovations.com/home (Forthcoming 2026).
  • Kumar, M., Nayak, A., and 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 (UGC-Care).
  • 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. http://naadnartan.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Maheshwar-Kumar1.pdf (UGC-Care).
  • 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.
• Research in Progress
  
  • Digital Storytelling
  • AI & Communication
  • Performing Arts in India
• Editorial Positions and Reviews
  
  • Peer Reviewer
  • South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies (Scopus, Taylor & Francis)
  • Cogent Arts & Humanities (Scopus, Taylor & Francis)
  • Religion and the Arts (Scopus, Brill Publication)
  • ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts (UGC-CARE)
• Conference Presentations
  
  • Accepted a paper on “Masked-dance and Audience Reception in the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau” in the Theatre and Performance Research Association Annual Conference at the University of Warwick, 27-29 August 2025.
  • Presented a paper on “Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau as an Assemblage of Training, Workshop, and Rehearsal” at the 29th Performance Studies International Annual Conference in London (Online Individual Paper), 20-23 June 2024.
  • Presented a paper on “Orality and Performativity of Purulia Chhau in India” at the Association for Asian Studies 2024 Annual Conference in Seattle (Virtual Individual Paper Presentation), 1st March 2024.
  • Presented a paper on “New Normal and Cultural Shifting: An Anthropological Appraisal of Purulia Chhau in the Recent Pandemic” at World Anthropology Congress on “Anthropology in Public Sphere: Indigeneity, Social Justice, Sustainability and Global Peace”, organized by United Indian Anthropology Forum, at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, held on 9-14 August 2023.
  • Presented a paper on “Women’s Innovations in the Performing Art Tradition of Purulia Chhau” at “the 60th World Congress of Dance Research”, organized by the International Dance Council – CID UNESCO, at Athens (distance conferee), held on July 5-9, 2023.
  • Presented a paper on “The Role of Masks: An Enquiry into the Make-believe Performances of Purulia Chhau” at an International Conference on “Play, Masks and Make-believe: Ritual Representations”, organized by the London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (virtual conference), held on December 4-5, 2021.
  • Presented a paper on “Invocation for Rain: Understanding the Performative Rituals of Purulia Chhau in West Bengal” at an International Conference on “Theatre Ecologies: Environment, Sustainability and Politics”, organized by International Federation for Theatre Research, at NUI Galway (virtual conference), held on July 12-16, 2021.
• Workshops/FDP Attended
  
  • 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, held 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, held on 10 November 2024.
  • Participated in the workshop on “Digital Humanities and Infrastructures: Tools, Archives & Theory”, organized by J P Narayan National Centre of Excellence in the Humanities, IIT Indore, held on 18-19 September 2024.
  • Participated in the “Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights”, organized by the National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, held on November 1, 2023.
  • Participated in the “UTOPIA’23 Literary Festival”, organized by the Department of English, School of Liberal Arts, Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar, held on August 28-29, 2023.
  • Participated in the “Memory Studies Workshop”, organized by the Centre for Memory Studies, IIT Madras, held on April 26-30, 2021.
  • Participated in the “IAPAR International Theatre Festival”, organized by the International Association for Performing Arts and Research, Pune, held on December 04-10, 2020.
  • Participated in an International Webinar Series on “Contemporary World Theatre”, organized by the Centre for Performance Research and Cultural Studies in South Asia, held on November 01-06, 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 at Jadavpur University, West Bengal, held on October 17-23, 2019
• Professional Associations and Memberships
  
  • Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA)
  • Performance Studies International (PSI)
  • Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
  • United Indian Anthropology Forum (UIAF)
  • Dance Studies Association (DSA)
  • International Dance Council (CID UNESCO)
  • International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR)