Pandit A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...

Durga Lal (1948 - 21 January 1990) was a renowned

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

dancer of the

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

Gharana. He was born in

Mahendragarh Mahendragarh is a city and a municipal committee in Mahendragarh district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is from Gurgaon and comes under National Capital Region (India). Etymology Earlier named ''kanaud'', in early 1860s it was renam ...

, Rajasthan. He is known for playing the main role in the 1989 dance drama ''Ghanashyam'', the music of which was composed by

Pandit Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

and was produced by

Birmingham Opera Company Birmingham Opera Company is a professional opera company based in Birmingham, England, that specialises in innovative and avant-garde productions of the operatic repertoire, often in unusual venues. History The company was founded by leading in ...

. He had also received the

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 ...

for the year 1984. Lal was a disciple of Sunder Prasadji. Along wth being a Kathak dancer he was also a singer and would play

Pakhvaj The pakhavaj is a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, originating from the Indian subcontinent, the oldest version of double sided drums and its descendants are mridangam of Southern India and kendang of Maritime Southeast Asia and other South Asi ...

. He taught Kathak at the

National Institute of Kathak Dance National Institute of Kathak Dance, also known as Kathak Kendra, is the premier dance institution for the Indian classical dance form of Kathak, and a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, situat ...

(Kathak Kendra),

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. Lal's brother Pandit Devi Lal was also a renowned Kathak dancer. Devi Lal's wife Geetanjali Lal is also a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner (2007). Both brothers died at an early age. After Durga Lal's death his children and other art fraternity members organised the annual Pandit Durga Lal Memorial Festival. In 2021, the festival was in its 31st season. Pandit Durgalal's disciples include renowned dancers

Uma Dogra Uma Dogra (born 23 April 1957) is an Indian exponent of Kathak, an Indian Classical Dance form. She is the senior most disciple of Pt. Durga Lal, the Kathak Maestro from Jaipur Gharana. She is a Kathak soloist, a choreographer and a teacher. Sh ...

, Jayant Kastuar and Mangala Bhatt amongst others. Nighat Chaodhry is Pandit Lal's notable student in Pakistan. In memory of Lal, Dogra has arranged the "Pandit Durga Lal Samaroh" for more than 15 years as of 2005. She has also made a documentary ''Nirvana Through Dance'' on him. Mangala Bhatt through her dance school Aakruti Kathak Kendra curates and organises "Antarang" every year in memory of Pt.Durga Lal Ji.

Early life

Pandit Durgalal was born in the year 1948 in Mahendragarh, Rajasthan. He took his formal training in kathak from Pandit Sunder Prasad. He was the brother-in-law of a famous kathak dancer, Geetanjali Lal. He has two children, elder daughter Nupur and younger son Mohit. Nupur is Kathak performer and

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and Mohit is a

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Awards

* prestigious Padma Shri award * Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

References

Indian male dancers Rajasthani people Kathak exponents Musicians from Jaipur Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1948 births 1990 deaths Pakhavaj players Performers of Indian classical dance Date of birth missing 20th-century drummers Dancers from Rajasthan {{India-bio-stub