Early life and education
Sadhna Bose and in Kolkata and Guru Kundal Lal in Mumbai initiated Narayan into Kathak at the age of four. She studied at Miranda House in Delhi, India, graduating with a master's degree in Physics in 1972. She completed MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from University of Madras in 2008 and M.Phil in Social Sciences from Punjab University in 2001. She also worked as a career officer for the Indian Audits & Accounts Service and retired in 2010. She is married to Dr. Herbert Traxl, Austrian Ambassador to India (retired).Achievements in dance career
As a "performer and guru," Shovana Narayan has performed widely in several prestigious national and international festivals and before several heads of state and governments and has trained several Kathak artists of the young generation. As a "choreographer-performer," Shovana Narayan has spearheaded and produced international collaborative works with leading dancers of western classical ballet, flamenco, tap dance, Buddhist chants with Buddhist monks, as well as dancing the compositions of western classical composers. She was the creative director-producer-dancer of the first-ever trilogy involving western classical dance-Kathak-flamenco in "The Dawn After" in 1994. She was also the creative director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 6th abylimpics 2003, held at New Delhi. She delivered the opening & closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games Delhi in 2010. She has spearheaded and produced several collaborative works with leading dancers of several Indian classical dance styles. She was also the creative director-producer for: * the classical dance sequence in the opening ceremony of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Indian Independence at National Stadium, 1997 * the ballet on the First War of Independence on Begum Hazrat Mahal * the ballet for Guru Gobind Singh’s Tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa panth, 1999 Some of her choreographies are: * the dance ballet "Kadambari: The Poet’s Muse" (2012) on the influence of sister-in-law, Kadambari on Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a subject never attempted before * the genre of dance enactments to philosophical themes with the eminent philosopher, late Prof Ramchandra Gandhi that was based on the lives of contemporary thinkers and sages (Vivekanand, Ramana Maharshi, Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Ramkrishna Paramhansa) * a soliloquy to "Shakuntala" (by Maithili Sharan Gupt), which rejuvenated the narrative tradition of the North-Indian dance form As an "organiser," Shovana Narayan organises annually: * a festival for young torchbearers of classical performing arts ‘LalitĀrpan Festival’ at India Habitat Centre * the Asavari festival featuring maestros of classical performing arts * the annual day ‘Rhythm & Joy’ of young students of Kathak (for over two decades)Research and films
Shovana has researched and discovered 8 Kathak villages near Gaya with documentary and official records. She collaborated with Sanskrit & epigraphy scholar KK Mishra, who discovered Prakrit inscription in Asokan-Brahmi script relating to Kathak dated to 4th century BC. She is the first dancer to have conceived, conceptualised and brought out a dance video on the philosophy and legend of the immortal Khajuraho temples entitled ‘Dance of the Temples’. She is the leading actor in films "Akbar’s Bridge" (Hindi) and "Das Geheimnis des Indisches Tanz" (German). Over 80 articles with in-depth research were published in several national newspapers, recognised journals etc. such as the Times of India, the Tribune, the Asian Age, in journals of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Rajasthan University, UNESCO and several others.Books
;By Shovana Narayan * * * * * * * * * *Awards and honours
* Padma Shri, 1992 *See also
*References
External links