Amala Shankar (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

'' Nandy, 27 June 1919 – 24 July 2020) was an Indian danseuse. She was the wife of dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar and mother of musician Ananda Shankar and dancer

Mamata Shankar Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an Indian actress and dancer. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has acted in films by directors including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghos ...

(later she became an actress) and sister-in-law of musician and composer

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

. Amala Shankar acted in the film Kalpana written, co-produced and directed by husband Uday Shankar. She died on Friday, 24 July 2020, in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

aged 101.

Biography

Amala Shankar was born as Amala Nandy on 27 June 1919 in Batajor Village of Magura District. Her father Akhoy Kumar Nandy wanted his children to be interested in nature and villages. In 1931, when she was 11 years old she went to the International Colonial Exhibition in Paris. Here she met Uday Shankar and his family. Amala at that time was wearing a frock. Uday Shankar's mother Hemangini Devi gave her a

Saree A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

to wear. She joined Uday Shankar's dance troupe and performed across the world. Uday Shankar and Amala Shankar in 1941

In 1939 when she was staying in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

with Uday Shankar's dance group, one day came to Amala at night and gave her marriage proposal. Uday Shankar married Amala in 1942. Their first son Ananda Shankar was born in December 1942. Their daughter

was born in January 1955. Uday Shankar and Amala Shankar was a popular dance couple for a long time. But, later Uday Shankar was romantically involved with a young girl of his troupe and he produced ''Chandalika'' without Amala. Uday Shankar died in 1977. The last few years, the couple lived separately. Amala Shankar was still active and has kept Shankar gharana alive with her daughter Mamata and daughter-in-law Tanushree Shankar. She was the sister-in-law of

, who was a

Sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form i ...

ist. Remaining active until her nineties, her last performance was the dance drama Sita Swayamvar at the age of 92, in which she played the role of King Janaka.

''Kalpana''

Amala Shankar acted in the film ''Kalpana'' (1948). The film was written, co-produced and directed by Uday Shankar, who also appeared in the film. Amala played the character of Uma. Amala Shankar attended the

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard sectio ...

where the film was screened. Amala Shankar said in an interview– "

... I was the youngest film star at the Cannes Film Festival... I am revisiting Cannes after a span of 81 years..."

Filmography

References

Eminent danseuse Amala Shankar passes away at 101 in Kolkata
''The Hindu''. 24 July 2020. * ''The Indian Express'' https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/dancing-with-the-star-100-year-old-amala-shankar-legacy-uday-shankar-5248647/

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar, Amala Bengali women artists Dancers from West Bengal Indian female dancers Women artists from West Bengal 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian film actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Indian centenarians Women centenarians People from Magura District Bengali people 1919 births 2020 deaths