Sonal Mansingh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Honourable
Sonal Mansingh
Sonal Mansingh performing in New Delhi.
Sonal Mansingh performing in New Delhi.
Background information
Born
Sonal Pakvasa

(1944-04-30) 30 April 1944 (age 82)
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India
OriginIndia
GenresOdissi, Bharatanatyam
Occupations
Years active1961–present
Websitewww.sonalmansingh.in
Sonal Mansingh
Member Of Parliament
Rajya Sabha
In office
14 July 2018 – 23 July 2024
Preceded byK. Parasaran
Succeeded byHarsh Vardhan Shringla
ConstituencyNominated (Arts)
Personal details
PartyBharatiya Janata Party
Parents
  • Arvind Pakvasa (father)
  • Poornima Pakvasa (mother)

Sonal Mansingh (born 30 April 1944) is an Indian classical dancer and Guru in Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancing style. She has been nominated by the President of India to become a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.[1][2][3] She is the recipient of Padma Bhushan in 1992 and Padma Vibhushan in 2003.[4]

Early life and background

[edit | edit source]

Sonal Mansingh was born in Mumbai, second of three children to Arvind and Poornima Pakvasa, a noted social worker from Gujarat and Padma Bhushan winner in 2004.[5] Her grandfather was Mangal Das Pakvasa, a freedom fighter, and one of the first five Governors of India.[6]

She started learning Manipuri dance at age four, along with her elder sister, from a teacher in Nagpur, then at age seven she started learning Bharatnatyam from various gurus belonging to the Pandanallur school,[7] including Kumar Jayakar in Bombay[8]

She has "Praveen" and "Kovid" degrees in Sanskrit from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and B.A. (Hons) degree in German Literature from Elphinstone College, Bombay.[9]

Though, her real training in dance started when at age 18, despite her family's opposition, she went to Bangalore, to learn Bharatanatyam from Prof. U. S. Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi[10] at age 18, abhinaya from Mylapore Gowri Ammal, and later started learning Odissi from Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra in 1965.

Mansingh was married to former Indian diplomat Lalit Mansingh. The couple decided to divorce later.[11] Her father-in-law Mayadhar Mansingh introduced her to Kelucharan Mohapatra where she had her training in Odissi.[12]

Career

[edit | edit source]

Sonal Mansingh dancing career which started in 1962, after her arangetram in Mumbai, and in 1977, she founded, Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD) in New Delhi.[13][14]

Over the years, dance has taken her all over the world[15] and brought her many awards, including the Padma Bhushan (1992),[16] Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987,[17] and the Padma Vibhushan, India's the second highest civilian award, in 2003; making her the second woman dancer in India to receive such an honour after Balasaraswati.[18] This was followed by Kalidas Samman of Madhya Pradesh government, in 2006 and on 21 April 2007, she was conferred with Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by G.B. Pant University, Uttarakhand at Pantnagar and Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) by Sambalpur University.[19]

To mark the completion of her 40 years in dancing in 2002, noted Hindi film director, Prakash Jha made a documentary film on her, title Sonal,[13] which also won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film for the year.[20]

In 2018, she was honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship also known as Akademi Ratna, for her contribution in the field of performing arts.[21]

Choreographies

[edit | edit source]
  • Indradhanush
  • Manavatta
  • Mera Bharat
  • Draupadi
  • Gita Govinda[22]
  • Sabras
  • Chaturang[23]
  • Panchkanya
  • Devi Durga
  • Aatmayan[24]
  • Samanavaya

Awards

[edit | edit source]

Quotes

[edit | edit source]
  • "A dancer is not just a dancer. He/She is part of this environment. He/She does not exist in a vacuum. Society and its happenings have an impact on all individuals, especially artists. If an art form does not reflect the existing milieu, it stagnates."[28]
  • "Radha is a grand image too but she's a personification of love without which there is no creation. In our male-dominated HISTORY the image of Krishna at the feet of Radha, begging for her love, is most unusual. Gita Govind invokes deep spiritual thoughts, packaged in beautifully written verses".[22]

Bibliography

[edit | edit source]
  • The Penguin Book of Indian Dance by Sonal Mansingh, Penguin Books Australia. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  • Classical Dances by Sonal Mansingh, Avinash Pasricha, Varsha Das. 2007, Wisdom Publications. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  • Draupadi, by Sonal Mansingh; Museum Society of Bombay, 1994.
  • Devpriya conversation with Sonal Mansingh by Yatindra Mishra; Vaani publication.

Further reading

[edit | edit source]
  • Sonal Mansingh Contribution to Odissi Dance by Jiwan Pani. 1992, Centre for Indian Classical Dances. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  • Bharata Natyam: Indian Classical Dance Art, by Sunil Kothari. MARG Publications, 1979. Page 169-170.

See also

[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Sonal Mansingh University of Alberta website, www.ualberta.ca.
  7. ^ National centre for the performing Arts. Quarterly journal. v.12-13, page 3
  8. ^ Sonal Mansingh: The dance of life The Times of India, 9 November 2003.
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Sonal Mansingh nrcw.nic.in.
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ a b Biography Archived 2009-07-28 at the Wayback Machine Official website.
  14. ^ Sonal Mansingh Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Interview
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Awards Odissi Archived 16 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Sangeet Natak Akademi official website.
  18. ^ Sonal
  19. ^ "String of awards for Sonal Mansingh", The Hindu, 27 April 2007.
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ a b Art and Culture Hindustan Times, 18 March 2008.
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Legends of India Archived 2008-04-16 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  28. ^ Sonal Mansingh Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine www.artindia.net.
  • India’s 50 Most Illustrious Women (Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).) by Indra Gupta
[edit | edit source]

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Sonal_Mansingh&oldid=11534840"