President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed condolences over the demise of renowned dancer and cultural icon Kanaka Raju.
- Kanaka Raju was s Gussadi dance maestro. Kanaka Raju was conferred the fourth highest civilian award of the country for his outstanding contributions to Gussadi, a traditional dance form in 2021.
- Kanaka Raju was named for the national honour of Padma Shri for his role in taking the folk dance to the world.
- Hailing from the Raj Gond tribe, Kanaka Raju popularised the rhythmic dance of Gussadi.
- Each year during Deepavali, the Raj Gond tribe of Adilabad (Telangana) observes the Dandari festival where those chosen by a village chieftain are part of the Gussadi rituals.
- Their faces and bodies smeared with ash, armed with indigenous musical instruments and sporting specific headgears, the chosen Gussards perform the dance-like Gussadi tradition and visit people’s homes and temples.
