Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, (born 1 May 1935) is a leading exponent, choreographer and a

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

of Indian classical dance form of Manipuri, including the Pung cholom and Raslila. He was awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1984 and the

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 ...

in 1986 for his contribution to the

Manipuri dance , image = , alt = , caption = An illustration of the ''Manipuri Raas Leela'' dance, being depicted in a stamp from Armenia; transliterations of "Jagoi Raas" and "Manipuri Raas Leela", the terms in Meitei language (offi ...

. In the year 2011,

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and ...

, India's

The National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

, awarded him with its highest award, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for his contribution to

Indian Dance Dance in India comprises numerous styles of dances, generally classified as classical or folk. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local tradi ...

. In 2014 he was also conferred with the Tagore Award. Guru Singhajit Singh and his wife Charu Sija Mathur, who is also a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award recipient, have established, ''Manipuri Nrityashram'', a

school, in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

Biography

Rajkumar Singhajit Singh was born in a family of dancers and musicians in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

. Early in life, he was fortunate to receive his dance education from the finest gurus of

, starting with ‘Guru Ojha Iboton Singh’ (1942–46) for Pung (drum), followed by ‘Guru Amubi Singh’ (1948–54) – Jagoi; ‘Guru Thambal Angou Singh’ (1950–52) - Kartal Chalom; ‘Guru Chauba Singh’ (1952–53) - Kartal Chalom; and with ‘Guru Ojha Gaura Singh’ (1952–53) from whom he learned the martial arts with Sword & Spear, and soon established himself as a dancer, choreographer and artist of repute He joined

Triveni Kala Sangam Triveni Kala Sangam is an important cultural and arts complex and education centre in New Delhi. Founded in 1950, by Sundari K. Shridharani, who was also its Founding Director, Triveni, as it is commonly referred, contains four art galleries, a ...

, in 1954, as Head of the Manipur Dance Section, and later in 1962, founded the ‘Triveni Ballet’ of which he was Director and Principal Dancer. Over the year, he and his dance troupe, have extensively travelled to several countries in Europe, the former USSR, North and South America, Japan, West Asia and Africa. Their recent choreography, ''

Ashta Nayika The Ashta-Nayika is a collective name for eight types of ''nayika''s or heroines as classified by Bharata in his Sanskrit treatise on performing arts - ''Natya Shastra''. The eight nayikas represent eight different states (''avastha'') in relati ...

'', has received wide recognition, from both viewers and critics alike

Awards

* Academy Ratna Award, 2011 * Homi Bhabha Fellowship (1976–1978) DR. R.K. Singhajit Singh Profile
Homi Bhabha Fellowship Council, Mumbai, Fellowship:1976-1978.
# 34. 1976-1978. * Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1984) *

(1986) * Delhi Sahitya Kala Parishad Award (1975) * Fellow of Manipur State Kala Academy * Manipur Sahitya Parishad Nritya Award (1975) * Nritya Choodamani from Chennai * Doctor of Letters (hon) – North Eastern Hills University * Tagore Award for cultural harmony, 2014 (awarded in 2018)

Bibliography

*''Manipuri'' by R K Singhajit Singh, ''Dances of India'' series, 2004, Wisdom Tree,

The Martial Arts of Asia: Eliminating Violence

References

External links

An interview with R K Singhajit Singh And Charu Sija Mathur

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Rajkumar Singhajit Indian male dancers Indian choreographers Indian classical choreographers Performers of Indian classical dance Teachers of Indian classical dance Manipuri classical Indian dance exponents Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Living people 1931 births 20th-century Indian dancers Dancers from Manipur