Hari Uppal (1926–2011) was an Indian classical dancer and the founder of a classical dance academy by name,

Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir The Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir (meaning ''Indian Dance Arts Temple'') is an arts and crafts museum and a multi-purpose cultural centre located in Patna, in the capital of Bihar, India. History The foundation stone for the institution of art wa ...

, known for his expertise in the dance forms of

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

and Manipuri. He was honored by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, in 2010, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

Biography

Hari Uppal was born on 22 September 1926 in Manpur in

Samastipur district Samastipur is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar in India. The district headquarters are located at Samastipur. The district occupies an area of 2904 km² and has a population of 4,261,566. History Samastipur became a district ...

in the Indian state of Bihar. He did his schooling at a local school in Patna and graduated from Patna Arts College in Sculpture. Receiving a scholarship, Uppal joined

Shantiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

in 1943, from where he learnt Kathakali and Manipuri dance. The next move was to

Kerala Kalamandalam Kerala Kalamandalam, deemed to be University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major center for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the Southern states of India, with the special emphasis on K ...

and studied under the tutelage of the renowned Kathakali exponent,

Guru Kunchu Kurup Guru Kunju Kurup (1881–1970) was a Kathakali dancer from south Kerala, India. Life Born in a Poypallilkulam family of Thakazhi village of Kuttanad in present-day Alappuzha district, Kurup was initiated into Kathakali at the age of 13 by hi ...

and Asan Ramankutty Nair. This was followed by a training stint on ''Raas Maharas'' and ''Basant Raas'' styles of Manipuri dance under the guidance of Guru Ojha Amubi Singh, in 1949. He has also had a three months training on European Folk dances in Czechoslovakia and Russia, on a scholarship from the Government of India, in 1970. On 8 December 1950, Uppal started working on his project,

, a dance academy of modest proportions. The academy, which started in 1963, with a student strength of 8 boys and 10 girls, have grown over the years to include coaching for five Indian classical dance forms and several fork dance forms of Bihar. The academy hosts studios for dance and drama, a gallery and an art museum and has training centres in Patna and Ranchi. It has also gained the status of a Music College since 2011. Hari Uppal died on 2 January 2011 at a hospital in Kolkata, reportedly due to

Cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

. leaving behind his son, Abhik, and three daughters. Stella Uppal Subbiah, one of his daughters, is an alumnus of

Kalakshetra Kalakshetra Foundation, formerly simply Kalakshetra, is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based in ...

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 ...

, and a UK based known exponent of

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 ...

. His mortal remains were laid to rest at Uppal House, his residence in Magra in the district of

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.

Awards and recognitions

Hari Uppal received the ''Tamra Patra'' (Copper Plaque) from the Bihar Nritya Natya Kala Parishad in 1952 and 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 ...

in 2001. The Government of India included him in the 2010 Republic Day honours list, for the civilian award of

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Uppal, Hari 1926 births 2011 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Performers of Indian classical dance Dancers from Bihar Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award People from Nalanda district 20th-century Indian dancers Indian male dancers

Biography

Awards and recognitions

See also

References

External links