Chandralekha Prabhudas Patel (6 December 1928 – 30 December 2006), commonly known as Chandralekha, was a dancer and choreographer from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The niece of
Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...
, India's first deputy Prime Minister, she was an exponent of performances fusing
Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...
with
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and martial arts like
Kalarippayattu
Kalaripayattu (; also known simply as Kalari) is an Indian martial art that originated in modern-day Kerala, a state on the southwestern coast of India. Kalaripayattu is known for its long-standing history within Indian martial arts, and is ...
.
She was conferred the highest award of the
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.
History
It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...
, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, the
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...
in 2004.
Early life and education
She was born to an
agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
doctor father and a devout
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
mother in
Vada
Vada or Vayda may refer to:
People
*Gunnar Vada (1927–2018), Norwegian politician
*Vada Nobles, American record producer
*Vada Pinson (1938–1995), American baseball player
*Vada Sultenfuss, fictional character in the 1991 film ''My Girl''
* ...
,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
. She spent her childhood in her native
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and in Maharashtra.
Career
After completing high school, Chandralekha studied law, but quit her studies midway to learn dance instead. She started with
Dasi Attam, a form of dance practiced by temple dancers in southern India, under the tutelage of
Ellappa Pillai. She was also influenced by
Balasaraswati
Tanjore Balasaraswati, also known as Balasaraswati (13 May 1918 – 9 February 1984), was an Indian dancer, and her rendering of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style originated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, made this style of d ...
and
Rukmini Devi Arundale
Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Shastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian cl ...
in her dance education, but her choreography shows that she was more influenced by the former.
Although Chandralekha received her early training in
Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...
, she went on to change her focus to postmodern fusion dances that incorporated elements from other dances, martial arts like
Kalarippayattu
Kalaripayattu (; also known simply as Kalari) is an Indian martial art that originated in modern-day Kerala, a state on the southwestern coast of India. Kalaripayattu is known for its long-standing history within Indian martial arts, and is ...
, and performing arts.
Awards and recognition
* 1991:
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...
: Creative Dance
* 2003-2004:
Kalidas Samman
The Kalidas Samman ( hi, कालिदास सम्मान) is an arts award presented annually by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in India. The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India. The ...
* 2004:
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...
References
Bibliography
Rustom Barucha. ''Chandralekha: Woman, Dance, Resistance.'' Indus. New Delhi: 1995.
External links
Archive film of Chandralekha performing Yanta in 1994 at Jacob's Pillow
Gujarati people
Indian women choreographers
Indian choreographers
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
1928 births
2006 deaths
Performers of Indian classical dance
Indian female dancers
Kalarippayattu practitioners
Indian female martial artists
Dancers from Maharashtra
20th-century Indian dancers
20th-century Indian women artists
Women artists from Maharashtra
{{India-dance-stub
Experiments in Art and Technology collaborating artists