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 ...

Durga Lal (1948 - 21 January 1990) was a renowned

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 ...

dancer 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. He was born in Mahendragarh, Rajasthan. He is known for playing the main role in the 1989 dance drama ''Ghanashyam'', the music of which was composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar and was produced by Birmingham Opera Company. He received 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 ...

in 1984. Lal was a disciple of Sunder Prasadji. Along with being a Kathak dancer he was also a singer and would play Pakhvaj. He taught Kathak at the National Institute of Kathak Dance (Kathak Kendra),

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. Lal's brother Pandit Devi Lal was also a renowned Kathak dancer. Devi Lal's wife Geetanjali Lal is also a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner (2007). Both brothers died at an early age. After Durga Lal's death his children and other art fraternity members organised the annual Pandit Durga Lal Memorial Festival. In 2021, the festival was in its 31st season. Pandit Durgalal's disciples include renowned dancers Uma Dogra, Jayant Kastuar and Mangala Bhatt amongst others. Nighat Chaodhry is Pandit Lal's notable student in Pakistan. In memory of Lal, Dogra had arranged the "Pandit Durga Lal Samaroh" for more than 15 years as of 2005. She also made the documentary ''Nirvana Through Dance'' on him. Mangala Bhatt through her dance school Aakruti Kathak Kendra curates and organises "Antarang" every year in memory of Pt.Durga Lal Ji.

Early life

Pandit Durgalal was born in 1948 in Mahendragarh, Rajasthan. He took his formal training in kathak from Pandit Sunder Prasad. He was the brother-in-law of a famous kathak dancer, Geetanjali Lal. He has two children, elder daughter Nupur and younger son Mohit. Nupur is a Kathak performer and

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and Mohit is a

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Awards

* Padma Shri Award * Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

References

Indian male dancers Rajasthani people Kathak exponents Musicians from Jaipur Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1948 births 1990 deaths Pakhavaj players Date of birth missing 20th-century Indian drummers Dancers from Rajasthan {{India-bio-stub