Sonal Mansingh

An eminent Indian classical dancer, she is the maestro of Odissi dance form. She is also proficient in performing
other dance forms such as Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam and Chhau. Well, we are talking about the great Indian dancer
Sonal Mansingh, who has made Indians proud. In this article, we will present you with the biography of Odissi dancer
Sonal Mansingh, one of the most prominent dancers of India.

She was born in the year 1944 in Mumbai. Her dance performances are simply awe inspiring and have brought her
lot of fame and fortune. Her works have always been highly praised. Infact, she has been honored with several
awards as a mark of appreciation of her works. In the year 1992, she received the Padma Bhushan, which is the
highest civilian award of India. To know the complete life history of Sonal Mansingh, read on.

Not only she has committed herself to the dancing field,

but also made an incredible contribution in bringing a
smile on the faces of millions of people. Sonal Mansingh
is the first Indian dancer to have been honored with
Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in
the year 2003. Due to her great thoughts and opinions,
sometimes, she is also called a philosopher.

She is a multifaceted personality, who is called by

different names, such as a dancer, philosopher, social
reformer, thinker, choreographer and teacher. She has
been performing on stage since 1964. She has taken
formal training in Chaau dance, Bharatnatyam, and
Indian music. In the year 1977, Sonal established the
Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD) in Delhi.

Her best choreographic works include Mera Bharat, Devi

Durga, Indradhanush, Sabras, Manavatta, Aatmayan,
and Draupati. She has traveled all over the world and
entertained people with her classic dance performances.
She is of the opinion that, dance should speak the
issues concerning the society and people at large. Some
of her choreographic works have brought forth, issues
related to women and environment. She has always
participated enthusiastically in seminars organized to
discuss social issues.

At an art festival, she came across her first husband

Lalit Mansingh. His father Dr. Mayadhar Mansingh took his daughter-in-law to Odissi guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and
she began her training in Odissi dance from the year 1965. Lalit had to shift to Geneva for professional reasons. In
the meanwhile, she went to Delhi to continue with her dance training. As years passed by, the couple decided to go
apart.

Sonal Mansingh took up dancing at the time, when it wasn't considered to be a very good thing. However, her
parents always gave her liberty to pursue what she wants to achieve in her life. She was born in a very broad minded
family. Her mother Poornima Pakvasa herself had a very artistic mind and her grandfather always advocated for the
equality of women.

Her grandfather Mangaldas Pakvasa was a great freedom fighter. He was one among the few initial governors of
India, so celebrated personalities used to frequently visit her home, even when she was young. He gave a boost to
her artistic talent and encouraged her to pursue her dream of enriching the Indian culture with her dance.

Awards Won

Padma Bhushan (1992)

Padma Vibhushan (2003)
Indira Priya Darshini Awards
Natya Kala Ratna from National Cultural Organization
Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award
Singar Mani award from Haridas Sangeet Sammelan

Born: May 1, 1944

Contributions
Sonal Mansingh is an eminent Indian classical dancer and a leading
exponent of Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, and Chhau. Besides being a dancer,
Sonal Mansingh is a well-known choreographer, teacher, orator and a
social activist. For her contributions in the field of "Classical dancing" she
has received accolades from many national and international organizations.
She was the youngest recipient of Padma Bhushan, in 1992. In 2003, Sonal
became the first Indian woman dancer to be awarded with Padma
Vibhushan.

Life
Sonal Mansingh was born to Arvind and Poornima Pakvasa on May 1, 1944
in Mumbai. Her mother was a noted social activist and in 2002 awarded with Padma Bhushan. Her grandfather was
Mangal Das Pakvasa, a freedom fighter, and one of the first five Governors of India. She has B.A. (Honors) degree in
German Literature from Elphinstone College, Bombay.

Learning
Sonal Mansingh started learning fundamentals of Bharatnatyam from Guru Kumar Jayakar at the age of seven, at the
Pandanallur school in Bombay. Later, she learnt Bharatanatyam from Professor U S Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga
Devi at Bangalore. Her maiden professional performance was at Mumbai in 1964. In 1965, she learnt Odissi from
Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She learnt almost all the dance numbers, which are currently in the repository of Odissi.
Sonal aggrandized her dance by acquiring the different strands of Orissa culture. Sonal has made much
choreography on Indian mythology. Her renowned choreographic works
include 'Indradhanush', Manavatta', 'Sabras', 'Devi Durga', 'Aatmayan',
'Mera Bharat', 'Draupati'.

Sonal Mansingh believes that society and its happenings have an impact on
all arts and subsequently on the artists. To her, dance is the medium
through which she can present the views of the unheard. According to her,
dancers must have love for literature, poetry, languages, sculpture and
painting as dance is a rare confluence of all these arts.

Centre for Indian Classical Dances

In 1977, Sonal Mansingh founded the Centre for Indian Classical Dances in New Delhi to train students in Indian
classical dance. The organization has been working to promote performing arts and nurturing the cultural legacy of
India. She is also the trustee of the largest institution in India, the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts.

Awards
Sonal Mansingh is the youngest recipient to receive the Padma Bhushan awarded by the President of India in 1992.
Besides, she has received several other honors for her contribution to dance, a few of which are listed below. It
includes the, 'Singar Mani' from Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, 'Natya Kala Ratna' from National Cultural Organisation,
'Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award', 'Indira Priya Darshini Awards', Medals of Friendship of Vietnam and Cuba State
Council etc. Rewarded with Padma Vibhushan in 2003, Sonal becomes the first Indian woman dancer to receive this
high honor.

Biograph
y

Dr. Minati Mishra was born in 1937 in Cuttack, Orissa. She was born
in a conservative but artistically inclined family. Father Shri Basanta
Kumar Das was Headmaster in Government school in Cuttack. He
was a strict educationist and used to sing as a past-time. Minati is
the youngest among three children. Her brothers were also artists in
their own right. Dr Srikanta Das is a dancer, flutist, dramatist and
choreographer. Her other brother Shri Sukanta Das was a singer,
flutist and table player. He retired as a High Court Magistrate

Childhood

Minati was introduced to dance and music in a very early age. She
started her lessons in classical singing, Esraj playing and folkdance.

In 1945, at a tender age of eight, she first saw a performance of

Smt Laxmipriya Devi (later to be wife of Guru Kelucharan
Mahapatra) in the Annapurna theatre. Laxmipriya used to dance
what was then known as Oriya Dance, a combination of Mahari and
Gotipoa, as a part of the theatre act. At that time Guru Pankaj
Charan Das and Guru Kelu Charan Mahapatra, were also actors at
the Annapurna theatre. Inspired by her wonderful performance,
Minati was inclined to take up dancing.
She started taking lessons from Shri Ajit Ghosh and Shri Banabihari
Maity of Calcutta. Under them she learnt mostly theme-based dance
in a mixture of styles. She was introduced to Odissi by the legendary
Shri Kabichandra Kalicharan Patnayak. Kabichandra is known for his
pioneering in-depth research on Oriya dance styles and at that time
also owned the Orissa Theatre. Later, in 1950 Minati started training
under Guru Kelu Charan Mahapatra.

Bharatnatyam Era

In 1954 she received a Scholarship from the Government of Orissa

to learn Bharatnatyam at Kalakshetra in Madras, under the revered
Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale, Shri Kutty Sarada and Shri Peria
Sarada.

In 1955 she joined the Indian Institute of Free Arts under Guru
Panda Wallur Pillai Chukkalingam and Guru Minakshi Sunderam
Pillai.

In 1956 Minati did her Arangatran in Bharatnatyam, and received

the title of Natya Kalabhushanam. She came back to Orissa and
continued her pursuit of excelling in Odissi. In next three years she
gave performances in several major cities in India including Madras,
Calcutta, Ahmedabad and Bombay.

The European Era.

In 1959, she was invited to perform in Switzerland by the

International Photographic Association. She performed in Zurich,
Luzern, Geneva and Winterthur.

In 1962 she was awarded Doctor of Philosophy in Indology by the

Phillip University in Marburg, Germany, for her research work on
Natyashastra. She did her entire research in Sanskrit.

In 1963, she performed at the Berlin Film Festival, in presence of

superstars of those days like Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck,
Anthony Quine and Carry Grant.

In 1964 she got married to Shri Nityananda Mishra, an engineer by

profession. Her Father-in-law Dr Udaikar Mishra was a renowned
politician in those days. Even though she was married into a
conservative family, her in-laws were a great support in her pursuit
of art.

The other side of Minati

Although Dance has always been her focus in life, Minati managed
to pursue several other interests as well. Early in her life she was a
 keen athlete and a state level badminton player. She participated
in various drama and folk theatre of her time. Around 1963 she
started acting in cinema. She acted in four Oriya movies: Surja
Mukhi, Arundhuti, Jiban Sathi and Sadhana. All four received
President’s award for best regional cinema.

Besides her stint in cinema, she worked as “A” Grade Radio Drama
artist at AIR as well. Unknown to many, Minati also received
Sangeet Prabhakar in Hindutani Vocal music under training
of .......................

Minati Today

Her husband Shri Nityanand Mishra died in 1980. Minati has since
been living in Switzerland for the last 15-16 years. Her only son is a
surgeon and today is well established in life. She divides her time
between India , Switzerland and Canada, guiding and advising her
students. She also participates in various festivals, lecture tours
and workshops organised in these countries.

Dr Minati Mishra is one of the most respected and revered Odissi

Gurus today. A majority of her students are recognised Gurus in
their own right.

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In 1964, Utkal Sangeet Mohavidyalaya was established in Bhubaneswar, Orissa
with the efforts of Shri Biju Pattnaik, who later became the chief minister of the
state. The aim of establishing this institution was to revive and develop the
cultural heritage of Orissa. In the initial two years, the institution lacked vision,
leadership and direction.

In 1966, Dr. Minati Mishra was appointed the Principal of this institution. She
brought to this chair, not only dedication and expertise in dance, music and
ancient scriptures but also deep love for Oriya culture and a vision for its
renaissance.

Dr Minati Mishra was helped in achieving her goals, by her strong academic
background and thorough grounding in music and dances - both classical and
folk. What helped Minati was also her years of training in Bharatnatyam in
premier institutions under veteran gurus like Rukmani Devi Arundale, Kutty
Sarda etc. Bharatnatyam was an already established classical dance-form. This
helped Minati in planning the revival of Odissi dance.

Her biggest challenge was to work with the first-generation Odissi Gurus, with
their extraordinary talent on one hand and a total ignorance of formalised
teaching methods on the other. She was able to accomplish this, almost
impossible, task with great skill and designed the Syllabus of the various
courses offered at the Institute. She was able to give the Odissi dance and
music training a more formalised and academic form, so that while being
trained in the art form, the students would earn a degree in their subject, which
would add value to their job-prospects as trainers and teachers.

She introduced the theoretical aspects of dance and music to the syllabus and
laid down the guidelines for the examination process. She also re-introduced
various elements of the ancient text of Natya-Shastra into the syllabus. In short
the syllabus of the institution while including all the finer aspects of music and
dance, conformed to the established standards of a national Indian university.

While serving at the institute, Minati had the unique opportunity to experiment
with various classical and folk styles of dance and music of Orissa. She very ably
pursued her own personal development in her chosen field while heading and
running the Utkal Sangeet Mohavidyalaya. During her years of service, she had
the unique distinction of learning from and collaborating with all the three first-
generation greats of the Odissi dance, viz. Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Deb
Prasad Das and Guru Keluchandra Mohapatra. This makes her one of the most
versatile dancers who incorporate the specialised techniques of all the three
Odissi Gurus.

Her noteworthy contributions to the Odissi dance are her emphasis on Bhava
(expression) and Abhinaya (dramatisation). These beautiful aspects put her
style of dance way beyond the technical finesse of a recital making it a spiritual
experience.

She served as the Principal of this premier institute for over 25 years. She is a
pioneer in her field and brought a tremendous amount of dedication to her
work.

Sacrificing the glitter and glamour of the life of a stage-artiste and show-world,
Dr Minati Mishra worked behind the spot light to shape Odissi dance-form as we
know it today.

These 25 years of her life were her most creative period, when she grew along
with her art and in this she was greatly supported by her husband Late Shri
Nityanad Mishra and her family including her in-laws.

In 1990, due to the untimely death of her husband, Dr Minati Mishra had to take
voluntary retirement from the Institute and opted to take a step back from the
Odissi arena to hold the reins of her family and bring up her son, who was still
in school then.