Munna Shukla (7 December 1943- 11 January 2022) was a

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 ...

guru and choreographer of

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 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 ...

based in

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Born to a family who has been involved in dance for generations, Munna Shukla specialized in Kathak, a classical dance form of North India. He was a grandson of the noted

Maestro, Late Achhan Maharaj, and a nephew of

Birju Maharaj Pandit Birju Maharaj (born Brijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1938 – 17 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant of the Maharaj fa ...

. In 2006, he 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 ...

, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by the

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) ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

Training

Shukla received his initial training in Kathak from his father, late Sunder Lal Shukla, and later on from

in New Delhi under the National Scholarship Scheme offered by the Ministry of Culture. During his training, he participated in many productions and gave several solo performances in the major cities of India.

Career

From 1968 to 1975 he imparted training to advanced Kathak students, both Indians as well as foreigners, at Kala Chhaya,

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. During this period, he also choreographed many duet and group compositions such Talmala, Talchakra, Himraja, Rajput-Ramani, Shahi-Mehfil, Hindola, Kathak ki Kahani, Holi and Tarana. He also choreographed full-length dance dramas like Kaliyadaman, Makhanleela, Banseeleela, and Shyam Bansuriya. Shukla has been well acclaimed by connoisseurs and the press. Shukla has worked with the students of

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

, imparting training in classical dancing to them. He has also given dance direction in a few Marathi plays. He has prepared some of his famous disciples like Kavita Thakur, Shruti Shukla and Rakhi Dubey. Shukla has been associated with

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 National Institute of Kathak Dance, also known as Kathak Kendra, is the premier dance institution for the Indian classical dance form of Kathak, and a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, situate ...

) New Delhi, from 1976 till he retired in early 2000s, thereafter he continued to teach in

East Delhi East Delhi is an administrative district of Delhi in India. It is bounded by the Yamuna River on the west, North East Delhi to the north, Ghaziabad district, India, Ghaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh state to the east, and Gautam Buddha Nagar ...

as well as at Bharatiya Kala Kendra. His compositions include Shan-e-Mughal (a full-length dance drama), Tratak, Kathak Prasang, Anvesha, Kraunch-Badh, Chaturang, Anga-Muktri, Raganvita, Goverdhan, Bahar, and Kathakayan.

Other works

*Azeezunisa – Dance direction in one play for

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

, 1998; *Ameer Khusro – an opera for P.K. Kendra, 1997; *

Inder Sabha ''Inder Sabha'' (, lit. "the Council of Indra") is an Urdu Play (theatre), play and opera written by Agha Hasan Amanat, and first staged in 1853. It is regarded as the first complete Urdu stage play ever written. The play was translated into German ...

– an opera for

, 1996.

Awards

*Samman of Sahitya Kala Parishad, 2003; *Sarangdeo Award by Sur Singar Samsad,

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, 1989; *U.P.S.N. Akademi Award, 1988. *

by the

- 2006

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Munna Indian choreographers Kathak exponents 1943 births Living people Indian dance teachers Dancers from Delhi Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award