Tara Sundari (stage name Tarasundari) (1878 - 19 April 1948) was a Bengali theater actress, singer, and a dancer. She is known for notable performances in plays such as ''Durgeshnandini'', ''Harishchandra'', and ''Riziya''. Tarasundari and Aparesh Chandra were one of the most successful on-stage pair of the Bengali theatre actors.

Early life

Tara Sundari was born to a poor family in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in 1878. She had an elder sister named Nrityokali. The actress,

Binodini Dasi Binodini Dasi (1863–1941), widely known by her stage name Noti Binodini, was a pioneering Indian Bengali language, Bengali actress, writer, and theatre personality of the 19th century. She began her acting career at the age of twelve in ...

, was her neighbour there.

Career

In 1884, with the help of Binodini, she joined the Star Theatre in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. Her first role was in ''Chaitanya Lila'' by

Girish Chandra Ghosh Girish Chandra Ghosh (28 February 1844 – 8 February 1912) was a Bengali actor, director, and writer. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre.Kundu, Pranay K. ''Development of Stage and Theatre Music in Bengal.'' Publi ...

, where she played the role of a boy. She learned to act from Amritalal Mitra. Kashinath Chattopadhay was her dance teacher. Her first role as a girl was in 1889 at the play ''Haranidhi'' by

. She learned to sing from Ramtaran Sanyal for this play. While there, she started using the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

, 'Tarasundari'. After appearing in three shows, she left the Star Theatre. At that time the Minerva Theatre, under the supervision of Girish Ghosh, was producing ''Karmeti Bai''. An actress known as Tinkori, who was playing the lead role, left the theatre at the same time. Tarasundari, on Girish Ghosh's request, temporarily played the role of Karmeti Bai for two shows. She was praised for a remarkable performance on such short notice. In the year 1894, her portrayal of Shaibalini in the play ''Chandrashekhar'' made her very popular. She acted in the play ''Sarala'' where she played the role of Gopal. She appeared in a few shows at City Theatre during this time also. She then took a break from acting.

Later career

After a long hiatus from theatre, Tarasundari returned to acting when the Indian Dramatic Club opened under the supervision of Amarendranath Datta, a well known actor and playwright of that time. She took part in a number of plays, where her acting was acclaimed. When Amarendranath formed Classic Theatre in 1897, Tarasundari joined it with him. Here she gave one of the finest performances of her life as ''Sreelekha'' in ''Hariraj''. After leaving the Classic Theatre, she rejoined the Star Theatre. Her memorable performances during this time include Shaiba/Shaivya in ''Harishchandra'', ''Basantashena'', and Annapurna in ''Mayabosan''. She went on to work with other groups like the newly established Arora, Minerva, and Kohinoor Theatres. After that, in 1922, she again left acting for some time following the death of her son. She moved to

Bhubaneshwar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra Khetra'' and ''Ekamra Khetra'' ( ...

where she founded a monastery, and devoted her time to religious activities.

Return from retirement and death

At the request of Girish Chandra Ghosh she returned to Kolkata and started acting again. Her first play after returning from retirement was Ayesha in ''

Durgeshnandini ''Durgeshnandini'' (, ''Doorgeshnondini'', ''Daughter of the Feudal Lord'') is a Bengali historical romance novel written by Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1865. ''Durgeshnandini'' is a story of the love triangle between Jagat Si ...

''. She went on to act in ''Harishchandra'' as Shaivya, she played the protagonist in ''Rizia'', and

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

in ''Balidan''. She worked in the early days of theater in Bengal with Shishir Kumar Bhaduri. The pinnacle of her career came when she worked at the Mitra Theatre. She acted in Jana as the titular character, and played the role of Durga in ''Shre Durga'' in 1926. She died in 1948.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundari, Tara 1878 births 1948 deaths Bengali actresses Indian stage actresses Actresses from Odisha 19th-century Indian actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses from British India