Hari Uppal (1926–2011) was an Indian classical dancer and the founder of a classical dance academy by name, Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir, known for his expertise in the dance forms of

Kathakali ''Kathakali'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Theatre of India, Indian theatre. It is a play of verses. These vers ...

and Manipuri. He was honored by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, in 2010, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of

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 ...

Biography

Hari Uppal was born on 22 September 1926 in Manpur in

Samastipur district Samastipur is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar in India. The district headquarters are located at Samastipur. The district occupies an area of 2904km² and has a population of 4,261,566. Samastipur was the largest milk producing distr ...

in the Indian state of Bihar. He did his schooling at a local school in Patna and graduated from Patna Arts College in Sculpture. Receiving a scholarship, Uppal joined

Shantiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: �antiniketɔn is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and ...

in 1943, from where he learnt Kathakali and Manipuri dance. The next move was to Kerala Kalamandalam and studied under the tutelage of the renowned Kathakali exponent, Guru Kunchu Kurup and Asan Ramankutty Nair. This was followed by a training stint on ''Raas Maharas'' and ''Basant Raas'' styles of Manipuri dance under the guidance of Guru Ojha Amubi Singh, in 1949. He has also had a three months training on European Folk dances in Czechoslovakia and Russia, on a scholarship from the Government of India, in 1970. On 8 December 1950, Uppal started working on his project, Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir, a dance academy of modest proportions. The academy, which started in 1963, with a student strength of 8 boys and 10 girls, have grown over the years to include coaching for five Indian classical dance forms and several fork dance forms of Bihar. The academy hosts studios for dance and drama, a gallery and an art museum and has training centres in Patna and Ranchi. It has also gained the status of a Music College since 2011. Hari Uppal died on 2 January 2011 at a hospital in Kolkata, reportedly due to

Cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

. leaving behind his son, Abhik, and three daughters. Stella Uppal Subbiah, one of his daughters, is an alumnus of Kalakshetra of Rukmini Devi Arundale, and a UK based known exponent of

Bharatanatyam ''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.< ...

. His mortal remains were laid to rest at Uppal House, his residence in Magra in the district of

Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...

, Bihar.

Awards and recognitions

Hari Uppal received the ''Tamra Patra'' (Copper Plaque) from the Bihar Nritya Natya Kala Parishad in 1952 and 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 2001. The Government of India included him in the 2010 Republic Day honours list, for the civilian award of

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Uppal, Hari 1926 births 2011 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Performers of Indian classical dance Dancers from Bihar Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award People from Nalanda district 20th-century Indian dancers Indian male dancers

Biography

Awards and recognitions

See also

References

External links