Damayanti Joshi (5 September 1928 – 19 September 2004) was a noted renowned exponent of the

Kathak ''Kathak'' is one of the eight major forms of Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as ''Kathakar'' ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the ...

dance form. She believed Kathak is the art of storytelling. She began in the 1930s dancing in Madame Menaka's troupe, which travelled to many parts of the world. She learnt Kathak from Sitaram Prasad of

Jaipur Gharana The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (also known as Jaipur Gharana, Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana, and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is a Hindustani classical music, Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity (''gharana''), founded by Alladiya Khan in the late-19th cent ...

and became an adept dancer at a very young age, and later trained under from Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and

Shambhu Maharaj Pandit Shambhu Maharaj (1910 – 4 November 1970) was a Guru of the Lucknow ''Gharana'' (school) of the Indian classical dance form, Kathak..Padma Shree Award -1958 Sangeet Natak Academic Award -1967 Early life and training Shambhu Maharaj was ...

of Lucknow gharana, thus imbibing nuances from both the traditions. She became independent in the 1950s and achieved prominence in the 1960s, before turning into a guru at her dance school in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. She received the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1970, the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: 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 ...

for Dance in 1968, and had remained Director of the U.P. Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.

Early life and training

Born in a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

family in Mumbai in 1928, she grew up in the household of General Dr Sahib Singh Sokhey and his wife Leila Sokhey (born Roy) who became known as

Madame Menaka Madame Menaka (October 15, 1899 – May 30, 1947) was the professional name of Leila Roy, Lady Sokhey, an Indian dancer and choreographer in the Kathak tradition. Early life and education Leila Roy was born in Barisal, Bengal Presidency, the ...

.Giants Who Reawakened Indian Dance
Kusam Joshi, 2011, Hinduism Today, Retrieved 5 September 2016 Manaka had lost her own child and she had decided to adopt Joshi. Joshi's mother Vatsala Joshi would not give up her daughter and they agreed to be joint guardians. Initially performed in temples. In Manaka's troupe she learnt about

from Pandit Sitaram Prasad as she toured in Menaka's troupe. After ten years, when she was 15 she had performed in European major cities. The Sokheys employed Damayanti's mother and Joshi received an education. Among her contemporaries at Madame Menaka's was Shirin Vajifdar, a pioneering classical dancer from the

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

community. She was the first student at Mumbai's Sri Rajarajeswari Bharata Natya Kala Mandir, where she learned

Bharat Natyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

from Guru T. K. Mahalingam Pillai, doyen among nattuvanars.

Career

After the mid-1950s, Damayanti established herself as a successful solo

dancer, taking training from

Pandit A pandit (; ; also spelled pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt. or Pdt.) is an individual with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge in Hinduism, particularly the Vedic scriptures, dharma, or Hindu philosophy; in colonial-e ...

s, Achhan Maharaj,

Lachhu Maharaj Pandit Bajinath Prasad also known as Pandit Lachhu Maharaj (1901–1978) was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer of Kathak dance. He came from a family of illustrious Kathak exponents in Lucknow, and also worked as film choreographer, ...

and

of the

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

gharana and

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

Hiralal of the

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

gharana. Particularly, at

Kathak Kendra ''Kathak'' is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as ''Kathakar'' ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the Hindu epics through danc ...

, Delhi, she trained under Shambhu Maharaj. She was the first person to introduce "

Saree A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-stit ...

" as a costume in Kathak dance. She also taught Kathak at Indira Kala Vishvaidyalaya, Khairagarh, and Kathak Kendra in Lucknow. She has been honoured with the

(1968) and the

(1970). She was also the guru to Bireshwar Gautam. She has been featured in the documentary on Kathak in 1971 by Films Division, Government of India, and another film entitled "Damayanti Joshi" directed by Hukumat Sarin was made in 1973. Damayanti Joshi died in Mumbai at her home on Sunday, September 19, 2004. She had been ailing and was bed-ridden for almost one year after she suffered a stroke attack. In the passing away of this great dancer we lost a great wealth of knowledge which we can only hope was imparted to her students like Pt. Bireshwar Gautam who remained a faithful student, dedicated to her till her very end.

Works

* ''Madame Menaka'', by Damayanti Joshi. Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1989. * ''Rediscovering India, Indian philosophy library: Kathak dance through ages, by Projesh Banerji, Damayanti Joshi. Cosmo publications, 1990.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Damayanti Kathak exponents 1928 births 2004 deaths Artists from Mumbai Teachers of Indian classical dance Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Women educators from Maharashtra Indian dance teachers Indian female classical dancers Dancers from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Women artists from Maharashtra Educators from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women educators

Early life and training

Career

Works

See also

References

External links