Sunil Kothari (20 December 1933 – 27 December 2020) was a noted Indian dance historian, scholar and critic. He was also former Uday Shankar Professor at Ravindra Bharti University,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Career

He completed M. A. in 1964 and PhD in 1977. Professionally, Sunil Kothari was a chartered accountant. He started his career with ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

''. He also taught at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. He freelanced as a writer. He lived in Asian Games Village in Delhi.

Death

He died on 27 December 2020 due to a cardiac arrest caused by COVID-19 complications.

Awards

He received

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

award in 2001. He also received

Sangeet Natak Akademi award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1995 for overall contribution to the Indian classical dance. He was awarded

Kumar Chandrak Kumar Suvarana Chandrak or the Kumar Gold Medal is a literary award given by Kumar Trust, Ahmedabad, India since 1944. The medal is annually conferred to a Gujarati author for his contribution in ''Kumar'' magazine published by Kumar Trust. In 195 ...

in 1961 and

Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Ranjitram Gold Medal, was founded by Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and is considered the highest literary award in Gujarati literature. The award is named after renowned Gujarati writer Ranjitram Mehta. It is ...

in 2012.

Bibliography

He has written 12 books on different forms of Indian classical dance and allied art-forms. * ''Bharata Natyam: Indian Classical Dance Art'' * ''Odissi: Indian Classical Dance Art'' * ''Rasa: The Indian Performing Arts in the Last 25 Years'' * ''Kuchipudi: Indian Classical Dance Art'' * ''Photo Biography of Rukmini Devi'' * ''Kathak: Indian Classical Dance Art'' * ''New Directions In Indian Dance'' * ''Chhau Dances of India'' * ''Damaru: Essays on Classical Dance, Music, Performing Arts, Folk Dances, Rituals, Crafts''

References

External links

Sunil Kothari website

Bharatanatyam exponents Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Dance critics Indian art critics Scholars from Delhi Dance historians 1933 births 2020 deaths Dance writers Indian male writers Indian art historians 20th-century Indian historians 20th-century Indian dancers Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship {{Dance-bio-stub