Yumlembam Gambhini Devi is an Indian singer of '' Nata Sankirtana'' and dancer of Manipuri Raas. She is a member of faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (JNMDA) and a recipient of the 1988

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 Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the

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 ...

, in 2005, for her contributions to

Manipuri dance Manipuri dance, sometimes also referred to as the Manipuri Raas Leela (), is a jagoi and is one of the major Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance forms, originating from the state of Manipur. It is one of the Meitei intangible cult ...

and music.

Biography

Gambhini Devi was born on the New Year day of 1945 at Yaiskul Hiruhanba Leikai in the Northeast Indian state of

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

to Y. Gulap Singh, a Nata Sankirtana performer, as the fourth of his eight children. She started learning music and dance at the age of 5 and , later, joined the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (JNMDA) from where she secured a post graduate diploma in ''Raas''. At the Academy, she received training from such notable gurus such as Amudon Sharma, Maisnam Amubi Singh, Khaidem Lokeshor Singh, Kshetritombi Devi, Ngangom Jogendra Singh and Ibopishak Sharma, in

and from Nongmaithem Tomba Singh, Khanda Moina Dan, Ngangom Jogendra Singh and Thokchom Gopal Singh in music (Monoharsai Kirtan). Her debut performance was when she was 7 years old and has performed on various stages in India and abroad since then. Her teaching career started at her alma mater where she worked as a member of faculty till her superannuation in 2005. While continuing as a visiting Senior Guru (Guruhan) at the Academy, she worked for the

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

station of the

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

as a Top Grade Artist, reportedly the first female artist from the state to get the top grade. She also founded a music training institute, ''YGR, Nat Sankirtana Sheidam Shang''. She is a former member of the selection committee of the

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on 8 May 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. I ...

and the Central Dance Audition Board of the

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

, the Indian national television network. Her songs have been compiled in two albums and she has published a book under the name, ''Basak'', on Basak songs.

Manipuri Sahitya Parishad The Manipuri Sahitya Parishad () is a literary council dedicated to the active promotion and the development of literary works in the Meitei language in India. in national as well as international levels. It has its branches in the Manupur citi ...

awarded Devi the ''Nritya Ratna Award'' in 1979 and she received the ''Nat Sangeet Award'' from the Manipur State Kala Akademi in 1980.

for Nata Sankirtan reached her in 1988, the same year as she was selected for the Senior Fellowship by the Department of Culture, under the

Ministry of Human Resource Development Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

. The Government of India honoured her with the civilian award of the

in 2005.

Biography

See also

References

External links

Further reading