  |
| Karuna Sagar Behera (1939-2008) |
|
Dr. K.S. Behera, b. Dec. 5, 1939, d . May 20, 2008 MA, PhD Utkal University, Bhubaneswar Retired. Professor of History, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar former vice-chancellor of Fakir Mohan University, Balasore Konark: the Heritage of Mankind (Aryan Books, New Delhi, 1996) Lingaraj Temple of Bhubaneswar: Art & Cultural Legacy (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi 2008) Also numerous articles I first met Professor Karuna Sagar Behera in 1979, when he was introduced to me by Hermann Kulke, as the most promising younger scholar in the Post Graduate Department of History at Utkal University. In addition to his education there (including a course with A.L. Basham), he had received his archaeological training in the Archaeological Survey of India in Delhi. When I once mentioned K.S, Behera to Krishna Deva, legendary director of the A.S.I. training course, he beamed at the memory of young Behera as one of his star students. Certainly this was born out by Professor Behera’s initial, foresighted excavations at Lalitagiri. In the 1980s I had the good fortune to visit sites throughout Orissa in his company, along with R.P. Mohapatra. Their energetic enthusiasm for fieldwork was infectious. Karuna Sagar Behera was aptly named: his kindness and hospitality were indeed oceanic. In the 1990’s, when an entire post-graduate seminar from Berkeley descended on Bhubaneswar, he staged a mini-seminar at his home along with an Oriya feast, including Mrs. Behera’s special tomato-date chutney. Finally, in the past decades I observed his expanding interest in modern topics. He headed an exemplary inter-disciplinary project on culture along the Mahanadi, bringing together folklore and archaeology. He organized a fascinating conference on the marine contacts of Orissa. He was knowledgeable about sources such as palm-leaf manuscripts, critiquing their antiquity yet respectful of the traditions they preserved. In general Dr. Behera kept in touch with a vast range of scholars throughout India and abroad. And all regarded him as a person of exceptional integrity. He will be sorely missed as a scholar and friend. Joanna Williams |
