Indian classical dancer
Sonal Mansingh (born 30 April 1944) is an
Indian classical dancer and Guru in
Bharatanatyam and
Odissi dancing style. She has been
nominated by the
President of India to become a
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha .
[1]
[2]
[3] She is the recipient of
Padma Bhushan in 1992 and
Padma Vibhushan in 2003.
[4]
Early life and background
Sonal Mansingh was born in
Mumbai , second of three children to Arvind and
Poornima Pakvasa , a noted social worker from
Gujarat and
Padma Bhushan winner in 2004.
[5] Her grandfather was
Mangal Das Pakvasa , a freedom fighter, and one of the first five
Governors of India .
[6]
She started learning
Manipuri dance at age four, along with her elder sister, from a teacher in
Nagpur , then at age seven she started learning
Bharatnatyam from various gurus belonging to the
Pandanallur school ,
[7] including Kumar Jayakar in Bombay
[8]
She has "Praveen" and "Kovid" degrees in
Sanskrit from
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and B.A. (Hons) degree in German Literature from
Elphinstone College ,
Bombay .
[9]
Though, her real training in dance started when at age 18, despite her family's opposition, she went to
Bangalore , to learn Bharatanatyam from Prof. U. S. Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi
[10] at age 18, abhinaya from Mylapore Gowri Ammal, and later started learning
Odissi from Guru
Kelucharan Mohapatra in 1965.
Mansingh was married to former Indian diplomat
Lalit Mansingh . The couple decided to divorce later.
[11] Her father-in-law
Mayadhar Mansingh introduced her to
Kelucharan Mohapatra where she had her training in
Odissi .
[12]
Career
Sonal Mansingh dancing career which started in 1962, after her arangetram in
Mumbai , and in 1977, she founded, Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD) in
New Delhi .
[13]
[14]
Over the years, dance has taken her all over the world
[15] and brought her many awards, including the
Padma Bhushan (1992),
[16]
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987,
[17] and the
Padma Vibhushan , India's the second highest
civilian award , in 2003; making her the second woman dancer in India to receive such an honour after
Balasaraswati .
[18] This was followed by
Kalidas Samman of
Madhya Pradesh government, in 2006 and on 21 April 2007, she was conferred with Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by
G.B. Pant University ,
Uttarakhand at
Pantnagar and Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) by
Sambalpur University .
[19]
To mark the completion of her 40 years in dancing in 2002, noted
Hindi film director,
Prakash Jha made a documentary film on her, title Sonal ,
[13] which also won the
National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film for the year.
[20]
In 2018, she was honoured with
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship also known as Akademi Ratna, for her contribution in the field of performing arts.
[21]
Choreographies
Indradhanush
Manavatta
Mera Bharat
Draupadi
Gita Govinda
[22]
Sabras
Chaturang
[23]
Panchkanya
Devi Durga
Aatmayan
[24]
Samanavaya
Awards
Quotes
"A dancer is not just a dancer. He/She is part of this environment. He/She does not exist in a vacuum. Society and its happenings have an impact on all individuals, especially artists. If an art form does not reflect the existing milieu, it stagnates."
[28]
"Radha is a grand image too but she's a personification of love without which there is no creation. In our male-dominated mythology the image of Krishna at the feet of Radha, begging for her love, is most unusual. Gita Govind invokes deep spiritual thoughts, packaged in beautifully written verses".
[22]
Bibliography
The Penguin Book of Indian Dance by Sonal Mansingh, Penguin Books Australia.
ISBN
0-14-013921-4 .
Classical Dances by Sonal Mansingh, Avinash Pasricha, Varsha Das. 2007, Wisdom Publications.
ISBN
81-8328-067-6 .
Draupadi , by Sonal Mansingh; Museum Society of Bombay, 1994.
Devpriya conversation with Sonal Mansingh by Yatindra Mishra; Vaani publication.
Further reading
Sonal Mansingh Contribution to Odissi Dance by Jiwan Pani. 1992, Centre for Indian Classical Dances.
ISBN
81-7304-002-8 .
Bharata Natyam: Indian Classical Dance Art , by Sunil Kothari. MARG Publications, 1979. Page 169-170 .
See also
References
^
"Sonal Mansingh, Ram Shakal among four nominated to RS" .
The Times of India . 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018 .
^
"Former MP Ram Shakal, RSS leader Rakesh Sinha among four nominated to Rajya Sabha" . New Indian Express . 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018 .
^
"President nominates RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha among three others to Rajya Sabha" .
The Economic Times . 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018 .
^
a
b
"Padma Bhushan Awards 1992" (PDF) . Padmaawards.gov.in .
^
"Freedom fighter, 'Didi of Dangs', dies at 103 in Surat" . The Indian Express . 27 April 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2021 .
^
Sonal Mansingh
University of Alberta website, www.ualberta.ca.
^ National centre for the performing Arts . Quarterly journal. v.12-13, page 3
^
Sonal Mansingh: The dance of life
The Times of India , 9 November 2003.
^ Khokar, Ashish Mohan (17 May 2018).
"Sonal: The 22-carat dancer" . The Hindu .
ISSN
0971-751X . Retrieved 18 February 2021 .
^
Sonal Mansingh nrcw.nic.in.
^
"The art of diplomacy" .
The Indian Express . 31 October 1999. Retrieved 29 May 2012 .
^
"Sonal Mansingh" . iloveindia.com. Retrieved 29 May 2012 .
^
a
b
Biography
Archived 2009-07-28 at the
Wayback Machine Official website.
^
Sonal Mansingh
Archived 2011-07-18 at the
Wayback Machine
^
Interview
^
"Padma Awards" (PDF) . Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015 .
^
Awards Odissi
Archived 16 August 2018 at the
Wayback Machine
Sangeet Natak Akademi official website.
^
Sonal
^ "String of awards for Sonal Mansingh",
The Hindu , 27 April 2007.
^
"Sonal " . Archived from
the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2008 .
^
"Akademi Ratna for Rajya Sabha MP Sonal Mansingh" . The New Indian Express . Retrieved 18 February 2021 .
^
a
b
Art and Culture
Hindustan Times , 18 March 2008.
^
"Famous Personalities of India" . Archived from
the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2008 .
^
Legends of India
Archived 2008-04-16 at the
Wayback Machine
^
"Kalam presents Padma awards" . rediff.com .
^
"Lifetime achievement award for Sonal Mansingh - Times of India" . The Times of India . 20 November 2019.
^ India, The Hans (15 September 2016).
"Lifetime achievement award for Sonal Mansingh" . thehansindia.com .
^
Sonal Mansingh
Archived 2008-05-09 at the
Wayback Machine www.artindia.net.
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