1. #Damayanti Joshi (5 September 1928 – 19 September 2004) was a noted Indian classical dancer in the Kathak dance form. She began in the 1930s dancing in Madame Menaka's troupe, which travelled to many parts of the world. She learnt Kathak from Sitaram Prasad of Jaipur Gharana and became an adept dancer at a very young age, and later trained under from Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow gharana, thus imbibing nuances from both the traditions. She became independent in the 1950s and achieved prominence in the 1960s, before turning into a guru at her dance school in Mumbai. 2.#She received the Padma Shri in 1970, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Dance in 1968, and had remained Director of the U.P. Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.
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14/12/2019.
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Born 5 September 1928, Mumbai, India
Died 19 September 2004 (aged 76), Mumbai, India
Occupation dancer, choreographer, dance instructor
Dances Kathak
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#Damayanti Joshi (5 September 1928 – 19 September 2004) was a noted Indian classical dancer in the Kathak dance form. She began in the 1930s dancing in Madame Menaka's troupe, which travelled to many parts of the world. She learnt Kathak from Sitaram Prasad of Jaipur Gharana and became an adept dancer at a very young age, and later trained under from Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow gharana, thus imbibing nuances from both the traditions. She became independent in the 1950s and achieved prominence in the 1960s, before turning into a guru at her dance school in Mumbai.
#She received the Padma Shri in 1970, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Dance in 1968, and had remained Director of the U.P. Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.
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Born in a Hindu family in Mumbai in 1928, she grew up in the household of General Dr Sahib Singh Sokhey and his wife Leila Sokhey (born Roy) who became known as Madame Menaka. Manaka had lost her own child and she had decided to adopt Joshi. Joshi's mother Vatsala Joshi would not give up her daughter and they agreed to be joint guardians. In Manaka's troupe she learnt about Kathak from Pandit Sitaram Prasad as she toured in Menaka's troupe. After ten years, when she was 15 she had performed in European major cities. The Sokheys employed Damayanti's mother and Joshi received an education. Among her contemporaries at Madame Menaka's was Shirin Vajifdar, a pioneering classical dancer from the Parsi community.
She was the first student at Mumbai's Sri Rajarajeswari Bharata Natya Kala Mandir, where she learned Bharat Natyam from Guru T. K. Mahalingam Pillai, doyen among nattuvanars.
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After the mid-1950s, Damayanti established herself as a successful solo Kathak dancer, taking training from Pandits, Achhan Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of the Lucknow gharana and Guru Hiralal of the Jaipur gharana. Particularly, at Kathak Kendra, Delhi, she trained under Shambhu Maharaj. She was the first person to introduce "Saree" as a costume in Kathak dance.
She also taught Kathak at Indira Kala Vishvaidyalaya, Khairagarh, and Kathak Kendra in Lucknow. She has been honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1968) and the Padma Shri (1970). She was also the guru to Bireshwar Gautam.
She has been featured in the documentary on Kathak in 1971 by Films Division, Government of India, and another film entitled "Damayanti Joshi" directed by Hukumat Sarin was made in 1973.
She died on 19 September 2004 at her home in Dadar, Mumbai, a year after she had suffered a stroke.
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Madame Menaka, by Damayanti Joshi. Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1989.
Rediscovering India, Indian philosophy library: Kathak dance through ages, by Projesh Banerji, Damayanti Joshi. Cosmo publications, 1990.
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She has also given commendable performances before their Majesties of Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Spain etc. She started her dancing career in All-India Music Conferences. She made mark for her Tala aspect, and also in Nritya, and was acknowledged as the best exhibitor of the Ashta Nayikas, which came to be known as a solo ballet. She studied and choreographed the sculptures at Khajuraho for her solo ballet on the SURASUNDARI in Kathak technique. She also choreographed Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumris, Trivat, Taraua and Chaturang in Kathak, and was the first Kathak dancer to do it.
At a tender age Damayanti travelled along with Menaka all over India, South East Asian countries, including Burma, Malaya, Singapore etc. throughout undivided India, Sri Lanka etc. She had her early training from Sita Ram Prasad and later from Achchan Maharaj, Luchchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj. In Jaipur Gharana she had training from Hira Lal.
Besides Kathak she has also learnt the other three classical schools, viz, Bharat Natyam, Kathakali and Manipuri from the respective stalwarts, and performed them at many places. Her honors among many, include Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi's Award for Kathak (1968), Padmashree (1970), titles such as Nritya Bhushan, Nritya Sharada, Nritya Vilas etc. Photo and account in Encyclopedia Brittanica (Latest Edition).
She is mainly featured in the documentary on Kathak in 1973 by film division, Govt of India and another film entitled Damayanti Joshi in 1974. In the early morning hours of Sunday, September 19, 2004, Damayanti Joshi, breathed her last.
Where art rises above skill and virtuosity, the name of Damayanti Joshi, a leading exponent of Kathak occurs to the lovers of Indian dance. She was born in 1928 at Mumbai and started dancing very early in life. As child she was trained in Kathak. She has danced in China, Japan, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Greece, and for the United Nations troops at Gaza.
She has been to GDR, Poland and Russia, Nepal and the above mentioned countries as a member of the Govt of India's Cultural Delegation. Apart from all this, she had undertaken a highly successful tour of UK, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and the continent of Europe. In 1969 she had been to Afghanistan as a member of the Prime Minister's Delegation and in the same year had performed at the Gandhi Darshan Exhibition at Delhi.
She was the only dancer from Bombay to perform at UNCTAD II. She has performed for the visiting dignitaries, such as the Presidents of Russia, Philippines, Indonesia, Poland, Mexico, Laos, China, Yugoslavia to name a few and at international conferences and festivals like the I.L.O., Parliamentary Delegation, Ambassadors, World Agricultural Festival, International Medical, Bankers Conference and many others.
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When I met “Diamond” of Kathak, Smt Damyanti Joshi ji
It was a fine evening at the hall L7in IIT Kanpur. It is a lecture hall but doubled as the best auditorium for all kinds of activities. The L7 was unique, everyone in the IITK Campus knew the destination. Be a film show, natak, a debate, or Lec-Dem of SPICMACAY or dance performance of Swapna Sundari ji, or Music or vocal rendition by Smt GanguBai Hangal. All were held in this L7.
There was a show by the Lucknow Kathak Kendra. A team from kendra came to perform. I could not believe my eyes when I saw Smt Damyanti Joshi ji. It was just like a dream. Since at L7, I could easily sneak-in all such programs. I immediately touched her feet to seek her blessings. Long ago I had seen her on Doordarshan. Thus one can imagine what happens to a child when he sees a star which he had seen on TV. I was out of this world. Later when she came to know that I am a keen student of Kathak, She immediately turned towards a Man. She said see it is good that he is willing to join us at Lucknow, we have shortage of boys in Kathak at Lucknow.
Later she asked me to come to Lucknow Kathak Kendra anytime. Without any hesitation you come to me- she had told me. No other person had said such words to me before, apart from one person. That another person was wife of our president R Venkentaraman. Once she came to IIT Kanpur campus to visit her daughter, whom I knew as Vijaya Aunty, I went to aunty’s house for some work. There I met her mother. That time R Venkataraman was Vice president. She told that you come to Delhi and inform at gate- so and so has come from IIT Kanpur. I really missed the opportunity to visit the Up-Rasthrapati’s house in New Delhi. Similarly when most respected Damyanti ji said those kind words I was filled with lots of emotions, imaginations etc. But What I could have done at that time. In both instances I was a “nobody”, how could I go to their places.
Later after some time I heard that due to some reasons Damyanti ji did not continue as the director, Kathak Kendra, Lucknow. It was not her loss. It was loss of Lucknow. It was a great loss for me personally. She was the true example of Kathak. Since she had learnt from guru of Jaipur Gharana and also from All the three gurus of Lucknow, Achchan Maharaj, Lachu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj. Thus She was a GEM- a Diamond of Kathak. Whose glitter never fades. That is the only quality by which a diamond is recognized.
As a four year old child she used to play in the courtyard of a house belonging to the Shokhey’s household. The lady of the house madam shokey was none other but known as Madame Menaka. She was also a great performer, a gifted one. She adopted this child, the daughter of Smt Vatsala. Who was working in this household. Thus began the association of two stars. Under the guidance of Madam Menaka the career of Damyanti ji started charting a path, which always strode upwards. Till Damyanti ji became a glittering star herself. Madam Menaka selected teachers for her daughter-Damyanti ji.
Legend has it that when the Guru Mahalingam Pillai the great Nattuvanar started school in Bombay to teach BharatNatyam, Smt Damyanti Joshi was the first student the moment the school started. That tells the alertness both Damyanti ji and Madam Menaka had and behind all, the approval of her mother might have been a great strength.
In another article I read that she did not like the introduction /announcement before any item. As she felt that dance itself should be able to communicate with the Audience. What is the need to inform the audience before-hand. If a dancer tells to audience before dance That means artist has failed in its objective. Kathak means the story telling. If we are not able to convey the story though our gestures then we fail ourselves.
She was also master in the Nayika Bhed, or the Astha Nayikas. The eight types of mood or heroines. As earlier I had written about Natraj Gopi Krishna, he was a true natraj and he demonstrated the nayika bhed with added masala. Small little things like pulling the hair pin with teeth and then putting on plait. But Damyanti ji demonstrated within the boundaries as defined in the shastras. She has been credited to introduce the practice of wearing Saree while dancing.
I attended several Lec Dem and seminars etc. In one utsav of Kathak at Delhi in evening there was program of Smt Damyanti Joshi ji in the FICCI auditorium. The year is not important. It was I think 1994/95?? It was quite late in night. I was strong lover of dance. I reached the FICCI, but when I entered the auditorium I felt ashamed. Felt very sad. At least when such a star artist and that too a senior artist of her status has come down to Delhi and more over she has the determination to perform herself on stage at that advanced AGE, all the dance fraternity must be present there. But I felt sad that only few days back there was a programme by Smt Uma Sharma ji for Spastic society of India. The FICCI auditorium was full. But when Damyanti Joshi danced in same auditorium not much seats were filled. Only a quarter of hall was with human heads. That day inside me I wept somewhere. But as I am a nobody, whom I could complain.
But kudos to that spirit, Damyanti Ji came on stage and danced with gunghroos on her feet. She danced few Tihais and chakardars also. Sometimes it seemed she will fell down. But She composed herself and completed dance. I salute her spirit. I saw her dancing at that advanced age is no sort of miracle for me (as a student of art). Not many from Kathak Kendra were there. However few from organizers and prachin kala Kendra were there too.
Photos I have taken from internet. Nowdays anyone can google pictures. But for us the students of arts this medium is very beneficial as we can atleast see many works of arts.
Thanx to the Google, The internet which has become a world wide web…..no one can come out of it!!! Google from a noun has become a verb!!!
Below is a Newspaper cutting , i have forgot the name, written by Ashish Khokar. It is in my collection of all such odd things that i used to collect during my schooldays. And it was a big problem for my family.
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You may be a dance-lover but do you know who Menaka was? That is the aim behind Pune-based Kathak exponent Shama Bhate’s upcoming ‘Madame Menaka Choreography Movement.’ It will not only highlight the life and work of the yesteryear dancer-choreographer, but also the nuances of choreography.
“I know much should have been done to bring her life into focus. It is a little too late, but if I don’t do it, my journey in dance will be incomplete. That is why I am calling it a movement. This is just the beginning,” says Shama.
Menaka, whose original name was Leila Sokhey, after her training in Kathak, established a residential school in Khandala, where she worked intensely on choreographing pieces in her own distinct way in sylvan surroundings. She broke new ground with her creative oeuvre that moved beyond the technique and structure of Kathak.
“Quite like Uday Shankar, she was much ahead of her time. Her modern moves and dance-drama format endeared her to the international audience when she toured Europe and South East Asia with the Menaka Indian Ballet. What she did then has been emulated by dancers over the years,” says Shama.
To lend a uniqueness to the fest that will celebrate the dancer with an unconventional approach, it will feature five choreographies based on proverbs and will be followed by a discussion, led by Ashish Mohan Khokar, on the process of visualisation. The panel will also have experts from different fields of art.
Madame Menaka choreography movement to highlight process of visualisation
Shama is keen about creating a database of choreographies and teaching youngsters what it truly signifies. “It is a much-abused term, used even for dancing at sangeets during weddings,” she laughs and continues, “we are quick to pick up these western terminologies without understanding their essence and spirit, especially in the Indian context. A good knowledge of music, theatre, costume and stagecraft is as essential as proficiency in dance for choreography.”
During her training years, Shama realised that command over the technique was not enough.
“To create your own space, you need to take the learning forward. It means developing your aesthetic sensibilities and a clear creative vision. And can you have a better idol than Menaka,” she asks.
The festival will be held on May 25 and 26 at Jyotsna Bhole Sabhagriha, Pune.
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You might wonder what does this title refer to? Kathak dancers may know of Madame Menaka. But if you ask any young Kathak dancer, he would say: “Madame Menaka who?” And what does it mean “and the Tiger of Hastinapur”? Even if you know from the Mahabharata Hastinapur as the kingdom of the Pandavas, what has it got to do with the Tiger? When I first saw a photograph from the Tiger of Hastinapur in a book by Damayanti Joshi on Madame Menaka, the legendary dancer, a contemporary of Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal, Rukmini Devi and Balasaraswati, I was confused about the title of the photograph. Damayanti Joshi, the author, a disciple of Madame Menaka, does not throw any light on the photo except that it is a sequence of a film which was made in Germany in 1936 by a nascent film industry with silent films in Germany and London.
Those who would have seen the play based on life of the filmstar Devikarani, recently staged in Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune, would remember the opening scene, in Germany where Bombay Talkies English film Karma’s setting is being shown in which Devikarani is being interviewed by the press. It suggests that in Germany, the film industry was making silent films. The Tiger of Hastinapur seems to have been filmed then in 1931. Or thereabout.
Let me explain. When I saw the clipping of the film, I saw in the first shot a corpse of a tiger lying on the floor and then the scene moved to a court where Menaka and her dancers were seen performing presumably for a king. Then we see a king entering the court and taking his seat on the throne. Someone then whispers in his ear and he leaves the court and dancers and comes to an open ground. The scene cuts to a jail where a young man is being held captive. The door opens and the heroine clings to him. The clipping ends there. One does not know whether the King of Hastinapur killed the tiger. And therefore the name Die Tiger von Eschnapur was given to the film as the film was in the German language. There is nothing more in this clipping nor is the screenplay available, except the photo and the names of all dancers in the photo!
Madame Menaka was born on October 15, 1899 in Barisal, East Bengal in a family where they had estates .Her real name was Leila Roy. She was the daughter of an Indian Bengali Pearey Lal Roy, a barrister trained in England, who lived and practiced in Kolkata, and who had married a British woman. She as a child attended Loretto Convent in Darjeeling and studied Western music. As a child prodigy at St Paul’s School in London, she played the violin and won prizes. But when she wanted to perform in public in India, her conservative father did not allow her as it was considered “impolite” and “below one’s dignity” among the upper classes in India.
However, Leila and her sister Meera were exposed to “art” and knew thanks to their father’s contact with Indira Raje, the princess of Baroda. They saw Bharatanatyam and also Kathak, which was called “Nautch”, in the durbar. They liked Kathak and after the recommendation of Indira Raje, the father relented and Leila studied Kathak under Pandit Sitaram Prasad, who was related to Achhan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj, traditional Kathak dancers, sons of Kalka Prasad, brother of Bindadin Maharaj, the great Kathak dancer and a famous poet from the Lucknow gharana. Sitaram Prasad was invited to Kolkata to teach the two sisters dance.
There was no looking back for Leila once she started studying passionately. She wanted to be a professional dancer. Then she got married to Col. Sahib Singh Sokhey of the Indian Medical Service. He was posted in Mumbai (then Bombay) as assistant director of Haffkine Institute. After the marriage, Lela moved to Bombay and with the support of Col. Sokhey further studied under Kathak gurus, In 1928, Leila had presented a solo recital. She started learning and also teaching dance to young dancers in the campus of Haffkine Institute. Within a period of three years, she trained some five to six young dancers. And decided to choreograph group dances with her students.
In 1931, she choreographed Krishna Leela. After her guru left for Lucknow, Col. Sokhey invited Achhan Maharaj to teach her. Also Lachhu Maharaj joined Leila and choreographed Dev Vijay Nritya. For the group production Leila had Ramnarayan Misra and another male dancer Gauri Shankar. They were traditional dancers. Leila, whose name was changed to Madame Menaka engaged non-professional female dancers from respectable families and not devadasis.
Col. Sokhey was to attend an Intergovernmental Conference on Biological Standardisation in Geneva in the early 1930s. Col. Sokhey, with the help of an impresario, Earnest Krauss, arranged a dance tour of Europe for Menaka and her disciples. This was for the first time that audiences n Europe were watching classical Kathak dance-dramas and ballets. Uday Shankar’s productions were based upon his own style and not on any classical dance style. Menaka and her partners Ramnarayan Misra and Gauri Shankar made a great impression and during the Dance Olympiad at Berlin in 1936, Menaka won first prize for her Indian ballet Dev Vijay Nritya and the two male dancers received medals for their individual dances.
In Berlin, Menaka had met German modern dancers Mary Wigman, who was much impressed with Menaka’s dances. Through Indira Raje, Menaka had met Anna Pavlova who also loved Indian dances and encouraged Menaka to develop her group choreographic works. Menaka had support from Indian scholars like Dr V. Raghavan, Dr D.G. Vyas, art historian Karl Khandalawala, painter Manishi Dey from Shantiniketan and musician Ustad Sakhawat Hussain Khan, who was a teacher at Marris College. Menaka changed the monotonous lehra and introduced various ragas, used the sarod, shehnai, pakhavaj, tabla tarang and xylophone, she devised sophisticated costumes and succeeded in creating a considerable impression abroad and at home.
Her dance-dramas like Malavikagnimitram, Kalia Daman, Mughal Seranade and Viraha Milap won resounding success. After the successful tours of Europe, she had established at Khandala, a hill station near Bombay, Nrityalayam dance school and had engaged a Kathakali teacher Krishnan Kutty and for Manipuri Bipin Singh. Shevanti Bhosle, Vimla, Damayanti Joshi, Kamala Kritikar and later on Shirin Vajifdar and other dancers joined the Nrityalayam institute to study Kathak, Manipuri and Kathakali. Menaka cleverly used these styles for her dance-dramas. Indeed she was a pioneer in reviving Kathak dance and placed it on the dance map of the world.
Menaka was also associated with Poet Rabindranath Tagore, freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu, bohemian poet, actor Harindranath and his wife Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya, who were staging plays in which Menaka used to appear and dance. An intelligent woman, she was aware of what she was doing for the revival of Indian heritage through dance.
After 1942, Menaka’s health began to deteriorate. She wad diagnosed with a rare disease Bright’s and she could not look after Nrityalayam well. Unfortunately, before we became independent of British rule on August 15, 1947, on May 30, 1947 she passed away.
Menaka was the first Kathak exponent who had embarked upon choreographing group dances and dance-dramas. It was Shirin Vajifdar who had written about her contributions in a special issue of Marg on Kathak. Menaka’s old photos show her as a dancer with a slim figure and her costumes reveal her taste. Like Uday Shanker and Ram Gopal, the mythological characters wore crowns and arm ornaments. The photos of the Malavikagnimitra dance-drama of Kalidasa and Dev Vijay Nritya and the rare film clipping discovered by Milai Milan, a young scholar based in Utah, USA used in her blog Cinema Nritya offer scholars enough academic research possibilities of the awareness that Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal and Menaka were creating through their choreographic works. Whereas Uday Shankar’s style was based upon his own inspiration and later on when he studied Kathakali, he used Kathakali to great advantage, Ram Gopal studied Bharatanatyam and also Kathakali and Menaka studied Kathak. The classical dance forms by the 1930s were seen in Europe and America, with a snowballing effect, as when Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal and Menaka performed in India, people realised what cultural wealth India possessed. With Rukmini Devi, poet Vallathol and poet Rabindranath Tagore’s institutionalising Indian classical dance, dance once again was given the status of a form of cultural expression of the nation.
Shama Bhate, a Kathak exponent based in Pune, with her disciples from Nad Roop Institute, arranged for a project last year: Madame Menaka and Movement, offering dancers the opportunity to choreograph group works based on proverbs. Shama Bhate believes that Madame Menaka’s pioneering work is relevant and as a movement it can inspire the young generation to create choreographic works in present times.
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Director: SPARROW | Producer: SPARROW
Genre: Documentary | Produced In: 2006 | Story Teller's Country: India
Tags: Asia, India
Synopsis: Damayanti Joshi, the renowned Kathak dancer and teacher captivated an audience of students, teachers and art enthusiasts at SPARROW's third visual history workshop. Damayanti was brought up by her young widowed mother Vatsala Joshi who remained Damayanti's inspiration and support till the end of her life. When she was just four years old Damayanti was brought under the protective wings of Madam Menaka, the pioneering choreographer-dancer.
THE END.
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14/12/2019.
Classical Dancer of India
Damayanti Joshi : Kathak :- Dancer, Choreographer, Dance instructor.
========================================================================1. Profile :
Born 5 September 1928, Mumbai, India
Died 19 September 2004 (aged 76), Mumbai, India
Occupation dancer, choreographer, dance instructor
Dances Kathak
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2. Introduction :
#Damayanti Joshi (5 September 1928 – 19 September 2004) was a noted Indian classical dancer in the Kathak dance form. She began in the 1930s dancing in Madame Menaka's troupe, which travelled to many parts of the world. She learnt Kathak from Sitaram Prasad of Jaipur Gharana and became an adept dancer at a very young age, and later trained under from Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow gharana, thus imbibing nuances from both the traditions. She became independent in the 1950s and achieved prominence in the 1960s, before turning into a guru at her dance school in Mumbai.
#She received the Padma Shri in 1970, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Dance in 1968, and had remained Director of the U.P. Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.
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3. Early life and training :
Born in a Hindu family in Mumbai in 1928, she grew up in the household of General Dr Sahib Singh Sokhey and his wife Leila Sokhey (born Roy) who became known as Madame Menaka. Manaka had lost her own child and she had decided to adopt Joshi. Joshi's mother Vatsala Joshi would not give up her daughter and they agreed to be joint guardians. In Manaka's troupe she learnt about Kathak from Pandit Sitaram Prasad as she toured in Menaka's troupe. After ten years, when she was 15 she had performed in European major cities. The Sokheys employed Damayanti's mother and Joshi received an education. Among her contemporaries at Madame Menaka's was Shirin Vajifdar, a pioneering classical dancer from the Parsi community.
She was the first student at Mumbai's Sri Rajarajeswari Bharata Natya Kala Mandir, where she learned Bharat Natyam from Guru T. K. Mahalingam Pillai, doyen among nattuvanars.
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4. Career :
After the mid-1950s, Damayanti established herself as a successful solo Kathak dancer, taking training from Pandits, Achhan Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of the Lucknow gharana and Guru Hiralal of the Jaipur gharana. Particularly, at Kathak Kendra, Delhi, she trained under Shambhu Maharaj. She was the first person to introduce "Saree" as a costume in Kathak dance.
She also taught Kathak at Indira Kala Vishvaidyalaya, Khairagarh, and Kathak Kendra in Lucknow. She has been honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1968) and the Padma Shri (1970). She was also the guru to Bireshwar Gautam.
She has been featured in the documentary on Kathak in 1971 by Films Division, Government of India, and another film entitled "Damayanti Joshi" directed by Hukumat Sarin was made in 1973.
She died on 19 September 2004 at her home in Dadar, Mumbai, a year after she had suffered a stroke.
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5. Works :
Madame Menaka, by Damayanti Joshi. Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1989.
Rediscovering India, Indian philosophy library: Kathak dance through ages, by Projesh Banerji, Damayanti Joshi. Cosmo publications, 1990.
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6. Damayanti Joshi : Universal Performer
She has also given commendable performances before their Majesties of Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Spain etc. She started her dancing career in All-India Music Conferences. She made mark for her Tala aspect, and also in Nritya, and was acknowledged as the best exhibitor of the Ashta Nayikas, which came to be known as a solo ballet. She studied and choreographed the sculptures at Khajuraho for her solo ballet on the SURASUNDARI in Kathak technique. She also choreographed Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumris, Trivat, Taraua and Chaturang in Kathak, and was the first Kathak dancer to do it.
At a tender age Damayanti travelled along with Menaka all over India, South East Asian countries, including Burma, Malaya, Singapore etc. throughout undivided India, Sri Lanka etc. She had her early training from Sita Ram Prasad and later from Achchan Maharaj, Luchchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj. In Jaipur Gharana she had training from Hira Lal.
Besides Kathak she has also learnt the other three classical schools, viz, Bharat Natyam, Kathakali and Manipuri from the respective stalwarts, and performed them at many places. Her honors among many, include Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi's Award for Kathak (1968), Padmashree (1970), titles such as Nritya Bhushan, Nritya Sharada, Nritya Vilas etc. Photo and account in Encyclopedia Brittanica (Latest Edition).
She is mainly featured in the documentary on Kathak in 1973 by film division, Govt of India and another film entitled Damayanti Joshi in 1974. In the early morning hours of Sunday, September 19, 2004, Damayanti Joshi, breathed her last.
Where art rises above skill and virtuosity, the name of Damayanti Joshi, a leading exponent of Kathak occurs to the lovers of Indian dance. She was born in 1928 at Mumbai and started dancing very early in life. As child she was trained in Kathak. She has danced in China, Japan, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Greece, and for the United Nations troops at Gaza.
She has been to GDR, Poland and Russia, Nepal and the above mentioned countries as a member of the Govt of India's Cultural Delegation. Apart from all this, she had undertaken a highly successful tour of UK, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and the continent of Europe. In 1969 she had been to Afghanistan as a member of the Prime Minister's Delegation and in the same year had performed at the Gandhi Darshan Exhibition at Delhi.
She was the only dancer from Bombay to perform at UNCTAD II. She has performed for the visiting dignitaries, such as the Presidents of Russia, Philippines, Indonesia, Poland, Mexico, Laos, China, Yugoslavia to name a few and at international conferences and festivals like the I.L.O., Parliamentary Delegation, Ambassadors, World Agricultural Festival, International Medical, Bankers Conference and many others.
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7. Diamond of Kathak- Damyanti Joshi ji
When I met “Diamond” of Kathak, Smt Damyanti Joshi ji
It was a fine evening at the hall L7in IIT Kanpur. It is a lecture hall but doubled as the best auditorium for all kinds of activities. The L7 was unique, everyone in the IITK Campus knew the destination. Be a film show, natak, a debate, or Lec-Dem of SPICMACAY or dance performance of Swapna Sundari ji, or Music or vocal rendition by Smt GanguBai Hangal. All were held in this L7.
There was a show by the Lucknow Kathak Kendra. A team from kendra came to perform. I could not believe my eyes when I saw Smt Damyanti Joshi ji. It was just like a dream. Since at L7, I could easily sneak-in all such programs. I immediately touched her feet to seek her blessings. Long ago I had seen her on Doordarshan. Thus one can imagine what happens to a child when he sees a star which he had seen on TV. I was out of this world. Later when she came to know that I am a keen student of Kathak, She immediately turned towards a Man. She said see it is good that he is willing to join us at Lucknow, we have shortage of boys in Kathak at Lucknow.
Later she asked me to come to Lucknow Kathak Kendra anytime. Without any hesitation you come to me- she had told me. No other person had said such words to me before, apart from one person. That another person was wife of our president R Venkentaraman. Once she came to IIT Kanpur campus to visit her daughter, whom I knew as Vijaya Aunty, I went to aunty’s house for some work. There I met her mother. That time R Venkataraman was Vice president. She told that you come to Delhi and inform at gate- so and so has come from IIT Kanpur. I really missed the opportunity to visit the Up-Rasthrapati’s house in New Delhi. Similarly when most respected Damyanti ji said those kind words I was filled with lots of emotions, imaginations etc. But What I could have done at that time. In both instances I was a “nobody”, how could I go to their places.
Later after some time I heard that due to some reasons Damyanti ji did not continue as the director, Kathak Kendra, Lucknow. It was not her loss. It was loss of Lucknow. It was a great loss for me personally. She was the true example of Kathak. Since she had learnt from guru of Jaipur Gharana and also from All the three gurus of Lucknow, Achchan Maharaj, Lachu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj. Thus She was a GEM- a Diamond of Kathak. Whose glitter never fades. That is the only quality by which a diamond is recognized.
As a four year old child she used to play in the courtyard of a house belonging to the Shokhey’s household. The lady of the house madam shokey was none other but known as Madame Menaka. She was also a great performer, a gifted one. She adopted this child, the daughter of Smt Vatsala. Who was working in this household. Thus began the association of two stars. Under the guidance of Madam Menaka the career of Damyanti ji started charting a path, which always strode upwards. Till Damyanti ji became a glittering star herself. Madam Menaka selected teachers for her daughter-Damyanti ji.
Legend has it that when the Guru Mahalingam Pillai the great Nattuvanar started school in Bombay to teach BharatNatyam, Smt Damyanti Joshi was the first student the moment the school started. That tells the alertness both Damyanti ji and Madam Menaka had and behind all, the approval of her mother might have been a great strength.
#She started wearing Saree while dancing :
As the training continued under tutelage of various great masters, Damyanti ji with her determination and will power emerged as a true artist. She learnt the intricacies of art-Kathak. She did not follow the art for the sake of fame. She was a true artists at core. Her renditions were pure art. She mastered over the Abhinaya and the “dheer” emotion of taal. As we know Kathak has been used as a chamatkari nritya- that means the dance specially the gunghrus were used to have some surprising effect on the audience, using the high speed laya and taal (beats). So as to mesmerize everybody. But, She chose Vilambit laya, the lowest speed while dancing. Through the slow beat the focus remains on the abhinaya, or so to say, if someone has truly mastered an art, it can be judged only through the vilambit laya-the Slow pace.In another article I read that she did not like the introduction /announcement before any item. As she felt that dance itself should be able to communicate with the Audience. What is the need to inform the audience before-hand. If a dancer tells to audience before dance That means artist has failed in its objective. Kathak means the story telling. If we are not able to convey the story though our gestures then we fail ourselves.
She was also master in the Nayika Bhed, or the Astha Nayikas. The eight types of mood or heroines. As earlier I had written about Natraj Gopi Krishna, he was a true natraj and he demonstrated the nayika bhed with added masala. Small little things like pulling the hair pin with teeth and then putting on plait. But Damyanti ji demonstrated within the boundaries as defined in the shastras. She has been credited to introduce the practice of wearing Saree while dancing.
I attended several Lec Dem and seminars etc. In one utsav of Kathak at Delhi in evening there was program of Smt Damyanti Joshi ji in the FICCI auditorium. The year is not important. It was I think 1994/95?? It was quite late in night. I was strong lover of dance. I reached the FICCI, but when I entered the auditorium I felt ashamed. Felt very sad. At least when such a star artist and that too a senior artist of her status has come down to Delhi and more over she has the determination to perform herself on stage at that advanced AGE, all the dance fraternity must be present there. But I felt sad that only few days back there was a programme by Smt Uma Sharma ji for Spastic society of India. The FICCI auditorium was full. But when Damyanti Joshi danced in same auditorium not much seats were filled. Only a quarter of hall was with human heads. That day inside me I wept somewhere. But as I am a nobody, whom I could complain.
But kudos to that spirit, Damyanti Ji came on stage and danced with gunghroos on her feet. She danced few Tihais and chakardars also. Sometimes it seemed she will fell down. But She composed herself and completed dance. I salute her spirit. I saw her dancing at that advanced age is no sort of miracle for me (as a student of art). Not many from Kathak Kendra were there. However few from organizers and prachin kala Kendra were there too.
Photos I have taken from internet. Nowdays anyone can google pictures. But for us the students of arts this medium is very beneficial as we can atleast see many works of arts.
Thanx to the Google, The internet which has become a world wide web…..no one can come out of it!!! Google from a noun has become a verb!!!
Below is a Newspaper cutting , i have forgot the name, written by Ashish Khokar. It is in my collection of all such odd things that i used to collect during my schooldays. And it was a big problem for my family.
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8.Madame Menaka choreography movement to highlight process of visualisation
You may be a dance-lover but do you know who Menaka was? That is the aim behind Pune-based Kathak exponent Shama Bhate’s upcoming ‘Madame Menaka Choreography Movement.’ It will not only highlight the life and work of the yesteryear dancer-choreographer, but also the nuances of choreography.
“I know much should have been done to bring her life into focus. It is a little too late, but if I don’t do it, my journey in dance will be incomplete. That is why I am calling it a movement. This is just the beginning,” says Shama.
Menaka, whose original name was Leila Sokhey, after her training in Kathak, established a residential school in Khandala, where she worked intensely on choreographing pieces in her own distinct way in sylvan surroundings. She broke new ground with her creative oeuvre that moved beyond the technique and structure of Kathak.
“Quite like Uday Shankar, she was much ahead of her time. Her modern moves and dance-drama format endeared her to the international audience when she toured Europe and South East Asia with the Menaka Indian Ballet. What she did then has been emulated by dancers over the years,” says Shama.
To lend a uniqueness to the fest that will celebrate the dancer with an unconventional approach, it will feature five choreographies based on proverbs and will be followed by a discussion, led by Ashish Mohan Khokar, on the process of visualisation. The panel will also have experts from different fields of art.
#Based on proverbs
Dancers Ameera Patankar, Ketaki Shah, Nikhil Ravi Parmar and Meghna Rao, Manasi Deshpande and Leena Katkar will choose proverbs from different languages and interpret them in their own way. “They are all students of Nad Roop, my dance school. For this fest they will work independently. It’s like a project,” says the guru, who was trained by veteran Rohini Bhate.Madame Menaka choreography movement to highlight process of visualisation
Shama is keen about creating a database of choreographies and teaching youngsters what it truly signifies. “It is a much-abused term, used even for dancing at sangeets during weddings,” she laughs and continues, “we are quick to pick up these western terminologies without understanding their essence and spirit, especially in the Indian context. A good knowledge of music, theatre, costume and stagecraft is as essential as proficiency in dance for choreography.”
During her training years, Shama realised that command over the technique was not enough.
“To create your own space, you need to take the learning forward. It means developing your aesthetic sensibilities and a clear creative vision. And can you have a better idol than Menaka,” she asks.
The festival will be held on May 25 and 26 at Jyotsna Bhole Sabhagriha, Pune.
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9.The magnetic Madame Menaka and the Tiger of Hastinapur :
#Madame Menaka was a legendary dancer, a contemporary of Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal, Rukmini Devi and Balasaraswati.
#Madame Menaka
You might wonder what does this title refer to? Kathak dancers may know of Madame Menaka. But if you ask any young Kathak dancer, he would say: “Madame Menaka who?” And what does it mean “and the Tiger of Hastinapur”? Even if you know from the Mahabharata Hastinapur as the kingdom of the Pandavas, what has it got to do with the Tiger? When I first saw a photograph from the Tiger of Hastinapur in a book by Damayanti Joshi on Madame Menaka, the legendary dancer, a contemporary of Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal, Rukmini Devi and Balasaraswati, I was confused about the title of the photograph. Damayanti Joshi, the author, a disciple of Madame Menaka, does not throw any light on the photo except that it is a sequence of a film which was made in Germany in 1936 by a nascent film industry with silent films in Germany and London.
Those who would have seen the play based on life of the filmstar Devikarani, recently staged in Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune, would remember the opening scene, in Germany where Bombay Talkies English film Karma’s setting is being shown in which Devikarani is being interviewed by the press. It suggests that in Germany, the film industry was making silent films. The Tiger of Hastinapur seems to have been filmed then in 1931. Or thereabout.
Let me explain. When I saw the clipping of the film, I saw in the first shot a corpse of a tiger lying on the floor and then the scene moved to a court where Menaka and her dancers were seen performing presumably for a king. Then we see a king entering the court and taking his seat on the throne. Someone then whispers in his ear and he leaves the court and dancers and comes to an open ground. The scene cuts to a jail where a young man is being held captive. The door opens and the heroine clings to him. The clipping ends there. One does not know whether the King of Hastinapur killed the tiger. And therefore the name Die Tiger von Eschnapur was given to the film as the film was in the German language. There is nothing more in this clipping nor is the screenplay available, except the photo and the names of all dancers in the photo!
Madame Menaka was born on October 15, 1899 in Barisal, East Bengal in a family where they had estates .Her real name was Leila Roy. She was the daughter of an Indian Bengali Pearey Lal Roy, a barrister trained in England, who lived and practiced in Kolkata, and who had married a British woman. She as a child attended Loretto Convent in Darjeeling and studied Western music. As a child prodigy at St Paul’s School in London, she played the violin and won prizes. But when she wanted to perform in public in India, her conservative father did not allow her as it was considered “impolite” and “below one’s dignity” among the upper classes in India.
However, Leila and her sister Meera were exposed to “art” and knew thanks to their father’s contact with Indira Raje, the princess of Baroda. They saw Bharatanatyam and also Kathak, which was called “Nautch”, in the durbar. They liked Kathak and after the recommendation of Indira Raje, the father relented and Leila studied Kathak under Pandit Sitaram Prasad, who was related to Achhan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj, traditional Kathak dancers, sons of Kalka Prasad, brother of Bindadin Maharaj, the great Kathak dancer and a famous poet from the Lucknow gharana. Sitaram Prasad was invited to Kolkata to teach the two sisters dance.
There was no looking back for Leila once she started studying passionately. She wanted to be a professional dancer. Then she got married to Col. Sahib Singh Sokhey of the Indian Medical Service. He was posted in Mumbai (then Bombay) as assistant director of Haffkine Institute. After the marriage, Lela moved to Bombay and with the support of Col. Sokhey further studied under Kathak gurus, In 1928, Leila had presented a solo recital. She started learning and also teaching dance to young dancers in the campus of Haffkine Institute. Within a period of three years, she trained some five to six young dancers. And decided to choreograph group dances with her students.
#A dance sequence from the German film, The Tiger of Hastinapur.
In 1931, she choreographed Krishna Leela. After her guru left for Lucknow, Col. Sokhey invited Achhan Maharaj to teach her. Also Lachhu Maharaj joined Leila and choreographed Dev Vijay Nritya. For the group production Leila had Ramnarayan Misra and another male dancer Gauri Shankar. They were traditional dancers. Leila, whose name was changed to Madame Menaka engaged non-professional female dancers from respectable families and not devadasis.
Col. Sokhey was to attend an Intergovernmental Conference on Biological Standardisation in Geneva in the early 1930s. Col. Sokhey, with the help of an impresario, Earnest Krauss, arranged a dance tour of Europe for Menaka and her disciples. This was for the first time that audiences n Europe were watching classical Kathak dance-dramas and ballets. Uday Shankar’s productions were based upon his own style and not on any classical dance style. Menaka and her partners Ramnarayan Misra and Gauri Shankar made a great impression and during the Dance Olympiad at Berlin in 1936, Menaka won first prize for her Indian ballet Dev Vijay Nritya and the two male dancers received medals for their individual dances.
In Berlin, Menaka had met German modern dancers Mary Wigman, who was much impressed with Menaka’s dances. Through Indira Raje, Menaka had met Anna Pavlova who also loved Indian dances and encouraged Menaka to develop her group choreographic works. Menaka had support from Indian scholars like Dr V. Raghavan, Dr D.G. Vyas, art historian Karl Khandalawala, painter Manishi Dey from Shantiniketan and musician Ustad Sakhawat Hussain Khan, who was a teacher at Marris College. Menaka changed the monotonous lehra and introduced various ragas, used the sarod, shehnai, pakhavaj, tabla tarang and xylophone, she devised sophisticated costumes and succeeded in creating a considerable impression abroad and at home.
Her dance-dramas like Malavikagnimitram, Kalia Daman, Mughal Seranade and Viraha Milap won resounding success. After the successful tours of Europe, she had established at Khandala, a hill station near Bombay, Nrityalayam dance school and had engaged a Kathakali teacher Krishnan Kutty and for Manipuri Bipin Singh. Shevanti Bhosle, Vimla, Damayanti Joshi, Kamala Kritikar and later on Shirin Vajifdar and other dancers joined the Nrityalayam institute to study Kathak, Manipuri and Kathakali. Menaka cleverly used these styles for her dance-dramas. Indeed she was a pioneer in reviving Kathak dance and placed it on the dance map of the world.
Menaka was also associated with Poet Rabindranath Tagore, freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu, bohemian poet, actor Harindranath and his wife Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya, who were staging plays in which Menaka used to appear and dance. An intelligent woman, she was aware of what she was doing for the revival of Indian heritage through dance.
After 1942, Menaka’s health began to deteriorate. She wad diagnosed with a rare disease Bright’s and she could not look after Nrityalayam well. Unfortunately, before we became independent of British rule on August 15, 1947, on May 30, 1947 she passed away.
Menaka was the first Kathak exponent who had embarked upon choreographing group dances and dance-dramas. It was Shirin Vajifdar who had written about her contributions in a special issue of Marg on Kathak. Menaka’s old photos show her as a dancer with a slim figure and her costumes reveal her taste. Like Uday Shanker and Ram Gopal, the mythological characters wore crowns and arm ornaments. The photos of the Malavikagnimitra dance-drama of Kalidasa and Dev Vijay Nritya and the rare film clipping discovered by Milai Milan, a young scholar based in Utah, USA used in her blog Cinema Nritya offer scholars enough academic research possibilities of the awareness that Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal and Menaka were creating through their choreographic works. Whereas Uday Shankar’s style was based upon his own inspiration and later on when he studied Kathakali, he used Kathakali to great advantage, Ram Gopal studied Bharatanatyam and also Kathakali and Menaka studied Kathak. The classical dance forms by the 1930s were seen in Europe and America, with a snowballing effect, as when Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal and Menaka performed in India, people realised what cultural wealth India possessed. With Rukmini Devi, poet Vallathol and poet Rabindranath Tagore’s institutionalising Indian classical dance, dance once again was given the status of a form of cultural expression of the nation.
Shama Bhate, a Kathak exponent based in Pune, with her disciples from Nad Roop Institute, arranged for a project last year: Madame Menaka and Movement, offering dancers the opportunity to choreograph group works based on proverbs. Shama Bhate believes that Madame Menaka’s pioneering work is relevant and as a movement it can inspire the young generation to create choreographic works in present times.
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10.Damayanti: Menakaa's Daughter :
Genre: Documentary | Produced In: 2006 | Story Teller's Country: India
Tags: Asia, India
Synopsis: Damayanti Joshi, the renowned Kathak dancer and teacher captivated an audience of students, teachers and art enthusiasts at SPARROW's third visual history workshop. Damayanti was brought up by her young widowed mother Vatsala Joshi who remained Damayanti's inspiration and support till the end of her life. When she was just four years old Damayanti was brought under the protective wings of Madam Menaka, the pioneering choreographer-dancer.
THE END.
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