Munna Shukla (7 December 1943- 11 January 2022) was a

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 ...

guru and choreographer of

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Gharana In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...

based in

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 Ho ...

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 ...

. Born to a family who has been involved in dance for generations, Munna Shukla specialized in Kathak, a classical dance form of North India. He was a grandson of the noted

Maestro, Late Achhan Maharaj, and a nephew of

Birju Maharaj Pandit Birju Maharaj (born Brijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1938 – 16 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, child molester and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant o ...

. In 2006, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by 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 ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

Training

Shukla received his initial training in Kathak from his father, late Sunder Lal Shukla, and later on from

in New Delhi under the National Scholarship Scheme offered by the Ministry of Culture. During his training, he participated in many productions and gave several solo performances in the major cities of India.

Career

From 1968 to 1975 he imparted training to advanced Kathak students, both Indians as well as foreigners, at Kala Chhaya,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. During this period, he also choreographed many duet and group compositions such Talmala, Talchakra, Himraja, Rajput-Ramani, Shahi-Mehfil, Hindola, Kathak ki Kahani, Holi and Tarana. He also choreographed full-length dance dramas like Kaliyadaman, Makhanleela, Banseeleela, and Shyam Bansuriya. Shukla has been well acclaimed by connoisseurs and the press. Shukla has worked with the students of Film and Television Institute of India, imparting training in classical dancing to them. He has also given dance direction in a few Marathi plays. He has prepared some of his famous disciples like Kavita Thakur, Shruti Shukla and Rakhi Dubey. Shukla has been associated with

Kathak Kendra 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 ...

(

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 ...

) New Delhi, from 1976 till he retired in early 2000s, thereafter he continued to teach in

East Delhi East Delhi is an administrative district of Delhi in India. It is bounded by the Yamuna River on the west, North East Delhi to the north, Ghaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh state to the east, and Gautam Buddha Nagar District of Uttar Prades ...

as well as at

Bharatiya Kala Kendra Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) is an Indian cultural institution which runs a school for music, dance and performing arts in New Delhi. It was founded by Sumitra Charat Ram in 1952, and imparts training in Indian classical dance styl ...

. His compositions include Shan-e-Mughal (a full-length dance drama), Tratak, Kathak Prasang, Anvesha, Kraunch-Badh, Chaturang, Anga-Muktri, Raganvita, Goverdhan, Bahar, and Kathakayan.

Other works

*Azeezunisa – Dance direction in one play for

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indepe ...

, 1998; *Ameer Khusro – an opera for P.K. Kendra, 1997; *

Inder Sabha ''Inder Sabha'' (Urdu: اِندر سبها) is an Urdu play and opera written by Agha Hasan Amanat, and first staged in 1853. It is regarded as the first complete Urdu stage play ever written. The play was translated into German in the 1880s as a ...

– an opera for

, 1996.

Awards

*Samman of Sahitya Kala Parishad, 2003; *Sarangdeo Award by Sur Singar Samsad,

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

, 1989; *U.P.S.N. Akademi Award, 1988. * Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the

- 2006

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Munna Performers of Indian classical dance Indian choreographers Kathak exponents 1943 births Living people Indian dance teachers Dancers from Delhi Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award