Maya Rao (2 May 1928 – 1 September 2014) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and educator, in

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. She is known for her pioneering work in Kathak choreography, especially in dance ballets, and is credited for bringing Kathak, a

North Indian North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

-dance style to

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, when she opened her dance school, Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography (NIKC) in

Malleswaram Malleshwaram is a northwest neighbourhood and one of the zones of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in Bengaluru, India. It was planned in 1889 after the great plague of 1898, developed as a suburb in 1892 and handed over to the city munic ...

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

in 1987. She was also the founder director of her dance company, "Natya and Stem Dance Kampni", an amalgam of NIKC and the STEM Dance Kampni ( founded by her daughter Madhu Nataraj) based in Bangalore. After her early training under Guru Sohanlal of

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 In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular musi ...

, followed by Guru Sunder Prasad also of the Jaipur Gharana, and went to train under Guru

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 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 ...

(National Institute of Kathak Dance) in Delhi. She was awarded 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 ...

, given by

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

, the National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama in 1989. In 2011, the Akademi awarded her the Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna, given to 100 artists from across India to mark the 150th birth anniversary of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

, for their contribution in the field of performing arts.

Early life

She was born in

, Bangalore to orthodox

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

Saraswat Brahmin Saraswat Brahmins are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir and Punjab in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara (coastal region of Karnataka) and Kerala in South India. In places such as western and southern India, ...

family of Hattangadi Sanjeev Rao, a renowned architect in the city, and Subhadra Bai. She had three brothers and three sisters. At an early age she learnt

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

– vocal and instrumental

dilruba The dilruba (also spelled dilrupa) is a bowed musical instrument originating in India. It is a type of Bowed Sitar that's slightly larger than an esraj and has a larger, square resonance box like a sarangi. The dilruba holds particular importa ...

from Rama Rao, being from an orthodox family where girls didn't learn dance, considered a taboo. However, this changed when at age 12, after she and her architect father watched dancer

Uday Shankar Uday Shankar (born Uday Shankar Choudhary; 8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer and choreographer, best known for creating a fusion style of dance, adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian classical dance, imbu ...

's troupe perform at BRV Talkies auditorium in Bangalore. Moved by the performance, his father wanted his daughters to learn dance. Her guru Pandit Ramarao Naik, was a disciple of Ustad Faiyaz Khan, and vocalist of the

Agra gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician o ...

. He ran music and dance school at Benson Town, Bangalore, where various dance and music styles were taught. Here Sohan Lal from

was in charge of the Kathak section. Soon, her younger sisters, Uma and Chitra, six years and four years old respectively, started learning Kathak from under Guru Sohanlal, while she at age twelve was considered too old for Kathak. Finally, her father allowed her to start her Kathak training in 1942, with a promise to never dance professionally or on stage, which she was soon break. She learnt from him for next two years. However, when she gave a first performance in 1944, at the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

for a Saraswat Samaj community programme, her father didn't object. After completing her schooling she joined B.A. (hon.) in English literature at

Central College, Bangalore Central College Bengaluru (1858) is one of the oldest colleges in India. This college was originally affiliated to University of Mysore in Mysore State. Rev. John Garrett was the founder and first principal of the Central High School, which w ...

in 1945, and later studied at Maharani's College in Bangalore. Here, she formed a club to dance and presented dance-dramas. This paved way for her first major performance, a ballet "Sita Haran" in 1947, for poor students at Maharani's College. Meanwhile, her father died in 1946, after being cheated in business and incurring heavy losses. Their family home was auctioned within a year and the family moved to a one-room house. Soon she along with her brother Manohar took charge to household, and she started teaching dance at age 17, to support her family.

Career

She moved to

in 1951, in search of Kathak. She also started teaching English at the Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' Public School for next two years. She then moved to Sri Lanka and studied Kandyan dance with legendary dancer, Chitrasena. Subsequently, in 1955, she received the prestigious Government of India scholarship and trained under noted Guru,

of the Lucknow Gharana at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi. She was the first student of the Kendra and Pt Shambhu Maharaj was the first Guru. She was the only student he ever danced with in all his life. In 1960, she was selected for the USSR Cultural Scholarship in Choreography to study for her Master's in Choreography. Upon her return from Russia in 1964, with the help of

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (3 April 1903 – 29 October 1988) was an Indian social reformer. She has worked for the promotion of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in independent India to uplift the socio-economic standard of Indian women ...

, then Vice Chairperson of

, she started the Natya Institute of Choreography in Delhi under the aegis of the Bharatiya Natya Sangh. Thereafter, she was based in Delhi for several years before she moved NIKC to Bangalore on invitation from the then Chief Minister

Ramakrishna Hegde Ramakrishna Mahabaleshwar Hegde (29 August 1926 – 12 January 2004) was an Indian politician who served as the third Chief Minister of Karnataka for three terms between 1983 and 1988. He was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1 ...

, which opened on 12 July 1987. Already known for her ''

abhinaya Abhinaya (Sanskrit ''abhi-'' 'towards' + ''nii-'' 'leading/guide') is the art of expression in Indian aesthetics. More accurately it means "leading an audience towards" the experience (') of a sentiment ('). The concept, derived from Bh ...

'' anga, she has to her credit several notable dance ballets production, such as Venkateshwara Vilasam, Kathak through the Ages, Art ''and Life'', Surdas, ''Barsha Mangal'', ''Tarana'', ''Ramayana Darshanam'', ''Hoysala Vaibhava'', ''The Vision of Amir Khusrau'', ''Tulsi Ke Ram'', and '' Urubhanga'' by Bhasa, besides ''Krishnadevaraya'', ''Vijayanagara Vaibhava'',

Masti Venkatesha Iyengar Masti Venkatesha Iyengar (6 June 1891 – 6 June 1986) was a well-known writer in Kannada language. He was the fourth among Kannada writers to be honored with the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honor conferred in India. He was popularly r ...

's ''Kaamana Billu'' and works of noted Kannada writer

Kuvempu Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He wa ...

. She became the chairperson of Karnataka Sangeet Nritya Academy, state academy for music and dance, and during her tenure from 1987 to 1990, she started National Performing Arts Festivals at heritage monuments of the state, like

Somanathapura Somanathapura, also spelled Somnathpur temple or Somanathpura is a town in T Narasipura Taluk, Mysore district in the state of Karnataka in India.

Pattadakal Pattadakal (Pattadakallu), also called Raktapura, is a complex of 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka, India. Located on the west bank of the Malaprabha River in Bagalkot district, this UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

and

Halebidu Halebidu (IAST: Haḷēbīḍ, literally "old capital, city, encampment" or "ruined city") is a town located in Hassan District, Karnataka, India. Historically known as Dwārasamudra (also Dorasamudra), Halebidu became the regal capital of the ...

. She was awarded the

for Creative dance/Choreography, given by the

, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama in 1989. She was awarded Rajyotsava Award, second highest civilian honour of the Karnataka state in 1986, and the Shantala Award for the year 1999, by

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

. In 2013, she received the 'Tagore Ratna' award, given Sangeet Natak Akademi, also in the same year she received the lifetime achievement award for her contribution to dance and choreography at the Epic Women conference. Over the years, she has trained over 3,000 students, notably, Nirupama Rajendra, Syed Sallauddin Pasha,

Satya Narayana Charka Satya Narayana Charka is a Kathak dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Among his awards is the first prize in the All-India Dance Competition. In 1981, he became the director of the East-West School of Dance in Monroe, New York. He teaches around ...

, Shambhu Hegde, Shivananda Hegde, and Nandini Mehta. Her daughter Madhu Nataraj is an acclaimed dancer and choreographer, and started STEM Kampni, a branch of NIKC.She continued as s a consultant choreographer at her institute till her last days. Maya Rao's autobiography, ''Maya Rao – A Lifetime in Choreography'' was completed by her in 2013 and released by playwright and

Jnanpith The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

awardee Shri

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian playwright, actor, film director, Kannada writer, and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwr ...

in July 2014. She died of massive cardiac arrest shortly after midnight on 1 September 2014, at M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Bangalore, where she was admitted around 11.30 pm due complains of breathlessness and chest pain. She was survived by her sisters Chitra Venugopal and Uma Rao, and daughter Madhu Nataraj, Kathak and contemporary dancer.

Awards and honors

*1989:

*1999: Shantala Natya Sri Award *2004: Keremane Award *2011: Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna

References

External links

Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography, website
* Personal Obituary by Culture Critic Veejay Sai in www.narthaki.com, http://www.narthaki.com/info/profiles/profl170.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Maya 1928 births 2014 deaths Kathak exponents Indian classical choreographers Teachers of Indian classical dance Artists from Bengaluru Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian autobiographers Indian women non-fiction writers Indian arts administrators Businesspeople from Bengaluru Businesswomen from Karnataka Indian female classical dancers Indian women choreographers Dancers from Karnataka Women educators from Karnataka 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian women artists 20th-century Indian dancers Women autobiographers Women writers from Karnataka Educators from Karnataka Women artists from Karnataka Scholars from Bengaluru