Sanjukta Panigrahi (24 August 1944 – 24 June 1997) was a dancer 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 ...
, who was the foremost exponent of
Indian classical dance Odissi
Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.[Odia
Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to:
* Odia people in Odisha, India
* Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family
* Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...]
woman to embrace this ancient classical dance at an early age and ensure its grand revival.
[Sanjukta Panigrahi, Indian Dancer, 65]
''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', 6 July 1997.
In recognition of her contribution to dancing and associated activities, she was honoured with one of India's highest civilian awards the,
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, ...
(1975). She is also recipient of 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 1976.
Apart from presenting
Odissi
Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.[Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...]
(1969), United Kingdom (1983),
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Delphi International Festival in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
(1989). She has also performed in France for eleven weeks, and participated there in the International Music Festival at Paris.
Early life and background
Panigrahi was born in
Berhampur
Brahmapur (; also known as Berhampur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha. Bramhapur is most famous for its street food, silk sarees or pato sarees, temples and many historical places. Bramhapur al ...
,
Ganjam District,
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
state, to a traditional
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
family of Abhiram Mishra and Shakuntala Mishra.
When she was a small child, she would start dancing intuitively to any rhythmic sound like the sound of chopping of vegetable or cutting of firewood. Her mother was from Baripada and belonged to a family, which had been patronising
chhau folk dance for long. She recognised the talent in her daughter, and encouraged her despite some initial resistance from Abhiram Misra, Sanjukta's father. The reason for the resistance was the fact that in those days this form of dance was performed generally by temple dancing girls, called
Maharis. Male dancers are called
Gotipua
Gotipua is a traditional dance form in the state of Odisha, India, and the precursor of Odissi classical dance. It has been performed in Orissa for centuries by young boys, who dress as women to praise Jagannath and Krishna. The dance is execu ...
s. These girls were like
Devadasis
In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...
in the temples of South India.
Training
At the initiative of her mother, she started to learn dance from
Kelucharan Mohapatra
Kelucharan Mohapatra (8 January 1926 – 7 April 2004) was a legendary Indian classical dancer, guru, and exponent of Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th century.
He is ...
at age of four. She was assessed to be the best child artist by the Bisuba Milan consecutively for three years during 1950–1953.
In one of her performances as six-year-old girl, she refused to leave the stage and continued to perform energetically even after the time was over. Her mother had to shout at and cajole her to stop dancing. At nine, she performed at annual festival of the Children's Little Theatre in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
.
She won the first prize in International Children's Film Festival in 1952. Encouraged by her success, her parents decided to send her for better dance training, to
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 ...
at
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. There she continued her lessons under the guidance of
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 ...
. For the next six years she stayed there, and eventually graduated with a ''Nrityapraveen'' diploma in
Bharatnatyam
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 ...
with
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 ...
as the second subject. After that, she toured many places in India and abroad, as a member of the 'Kalakshetra Ballet Troupe'.
At the age of 14, she returned to
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
. The state government awarded her a scholarship to learn
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 ...
from Guru Hazarilal in
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...
,
Mumbai
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- ...
. However, she left the course and returned to Odisha to concentrate on
Odissi
Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.[Kelucharan Mahapatra
Kelucharan Mohapatra (8 January 1926 – 7 April 2004) was a legendary Indian classical dancer, guru, and exponent of Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th century.
He is ...]
was conferred with 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 ...
, and she rendered an Odissi performance during the award ceremony in New Delhi. The audience was enthralled by her performance. She had made her mark at the national level, and from that point she did not look back.
Meanwhile, her husband had emerged as a fine vocalist, and also started rendering music for her performances. In the coming decades, the Sanjukta-Raghunath duo enthralled the audience, even outlasting the Yamini-Jyothismathi duo, and were jointly awarded 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 1976.
Sanjukta later came to be known as Guru
Kelucharan Mahapatra
Kelucharan Mohapatra (8 January 1926 – 7 April 2004) was a legendary Indian classical dancer, guru, and exponent of Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th century.
He is ...
's greatest disciple, and they travelled the length and the breath of the India, performing together and popularising the almost lost dance form of
Odissi
Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.[Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...]
at Bologna, Italy in 1986, 1990 and 1992, teaching short courses and demonstrating Odissi dance to foreign students, further adding to its global popularity.
Sanjukta's forte was her ''Nritta'', or pure dance, in which she was outstanding. Her great advantage was her musician husband, whose constant presence helped her finesse her abilities in this genre. In ''Abhinaya'' (interpretation of poetry), connoisseurs and critics were agreed on the fact that she more often than not veered towards jatra and melodrama.
Together with her musician husband, Sanjukta has left behind a rich repertoire of Odissi dance, both modern as well as classical, ranging from traditional numbers based on the
Jayadeva
Jayadeva (; born ), also spelt Jaideva, was a Sanskrit poet during the 12th century. He is most known for his epic poem ''Gita Govinda'' which concentrates on Krishna's love with the '' gopi'', Radha, in a rite of spring. This poem, which presen ...
's
Gita Govinda
The ''Gita Govinda'' ( sa, गीत गोविन्दम्; ) is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan.
The ''Gita G ...
to the padabalies of
Surdas
Surdas (IAST: Sūr, Devanagari: सूर) was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singer, who was known for his works written in praise of Krishna, the supreme lord. He was a Vaishnava devotee of Lord Krishna, and he was also a ...
,
Chaupais from the
Ramacharitamanasa
''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the ''Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). This ...
of
Tulasidas
Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, but ...
and the songs of
Vidyapati
Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier ...
and
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
, with piece-de-resistance being, the innovative ''Yugma-Dwanda'': a sort of Jugalbandi between the dancer and the musician in Raga Bageshri, composed by Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi and the sublime, ''Moksha Mangalam'' which in time had become her personal signature, which she used to end her performances, on an ethereal note.
In the words of noted dance critic,
Dr. Sunil Kothari, ''"Sanjukta gave up
Bharatnatyam
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 ...
and devoted her life to Odissi, putting her signature on the form."''
Later years
She continued to perform in most of the state functions. With her pioneering efforts, she brought forth an almost forgotten Odissi style of dancing to an important position in the dance repertory of India.
She died of cancer at the age of 52, on 24 June 1997.
Personal life
At
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 ...
,
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, she had fallen in love with
Raghunath Panigrahi
Suramani' Pandit'' Raghunath Panigrahi (; 10 August 1932 – 25 August 2013) was an Odissi music Guru, vocalist, composer and music director. He is most known for his renditions of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda and his vocal support for his wife, th ...
, ten-year her senior, and a fine vocalist of ''
Gita Govinda
The ''Gita Govinda'' ( sa, गीत गोविन्दम्; ) is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan.
The ''Gita G ...
'', who left a promising career in film music in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, to provide vocal support in her performances. When she was 16 years of age, they got married and over a period of time had two sons.
[
]
Legacy
Sanjukta left behind many accomplished students, including Dr. Chitra Krishnamurti, director of ''Nrityalaya'' (an Odissi school in Potomac) and Joyoti Das a resident of Melbourne, a devout disciple of her in Australia, the artistic director and teacher of Kalamandir School of Indian classical dances, dedicated to maintain the continuum of Sanjukta's Odissi style. Sanjukta Panigrahi is considered an embodiment of Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra's art.
Sanjukta Panigrahi Awards
After her death, her husband Raghunath Panigrahi
Suramani' Pandit'' Raghunath Panigrahi (; 10 August 1932 – 25 August 2013) was an Odissi music Guru, vocalist, composer and music director. He is most known for his renditions of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda and his vocal support for his wife, th ...
formed a trust in her name, 'Sanjukta Panigrahi Memorial Trust', in 1999, to promote the cause of Odissi dance. Since 2001, every year on her birth anniversary, the trust has been giving away scholarships to budding dancers, and awards excellence in the field of Odissi dance.
Quotes
* "I had two gurus, each with contradicting views. 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 ...
stressed technique while Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
Kelucharan Mohapatra (8 January 1926 – 7 April 2004) was a legendary Indian classical dancer, guru, and exponent of Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th century.
He is ...
insisted upon forgetting technique. I was confused. Much later I realized that with dedication and hard work, technique would follow automatically." As told to a disciple, Joyoti Das.
* "Shakti . .which is neither masculine nor feminine . . A performer of either sex is always Shakti, energy which creates."
Films on Sanjukta Panigrahi
* Encounter With the Gods: Odissi Dance With Sanjukta Panigrahi. 1999 Encounter With the Gods With Sanjukta Panigrahi
Duration 30 min. ''Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
''.
See also
*
Indian women in dance
References
* Indra Gupta, ''India's 50 Most Illustrious Women'' New Delhi: Icon Publications, 2003.
External links
*
Jack Anderson,
Dance: Sanjukta Panigrahi' in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 14 October 1984 accessed at 31 July 2006
*
Sanjukta Panigrahi Images;Video links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panigrahi, Sanjukta
1944 births
1997 deaths
People from Ganjam district
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Odissi exponents
Performers of Indian classical dance
Indian classical choreographers
Teachers of Indian classical dance
Kalakshetra Foundation alumni
Indian women choreographers
Indian choreographers
Dancers from Odisha
20th-century Indian educators
20th-century Indian dancers
20th-century Indian women artists
Educators from Odisha
Women artists from Odisha
Women educators from Odisha
Indian female classical dancers
20th-century women educators