Shashi Sankhla, (born 28 October 1948), is an exponent of the

Jaipur gharana The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (also known as Jaipur Gharana, Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana, and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is an Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity (''gharana''), founded by Alladiya Khan in the late-19th century. Evolved from the dhrup ...

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 ...

dance in

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 ...

. She is a Senior Disciple of Guru Pt. Kundan Lal Gangani Ji. She has been awarded by

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 ...

s 2008 in Kathak dance. She was the principal of

Jaipur Kathak Kendra Jaipur Kathak Kendra is a teaching institution of Kathak. It was established by Government of Rajasthan in 1978 in Jaipur to patronise and develop the Jaipur ''Gharana'' of Kathak. The major priority of the Kendra is to develop the research work, ...

. She founded Geetanjali music Society an institute devoted to

Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award-08 to Smt

Early life and background

Born in the suncity

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, she initiated her kathak training under the guidance of famous KATHAK Gurus Pandit Mool Chand Gometi ji and was further groomed by Pandit Mohan lal Maharaj ji and later on by Pt. Kundanlal Gangani ji of the

Jaipur Gharana The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (also known as Jaipur Gharana, Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana, and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is an Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity (''gharana''), founded by Alladiya Khan in the late-19th century. Evolved from the dhrup ...

. She further enhanced her knowledge in the field of

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 ...

by Guru Pratibha Pandit, Baroda

vocal music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with musical instruments, instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which ...

under Pt. Kshirsagar ji and acquired proficiency in playing

pakhawaj 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 Asia ...

under Pt. Badrinarayan Pareek ji and folk dances under Master Kasim ji.

Career

She started her career as a teacher at the age of 19, at the Rashtriya Kala Mandal in

and then at

as Kathak Nritya Guru in 1978 and served that institution for 28 years and retired as Principal in 2006. Currently she is imparting kathak training at Geetanjali Music Society,

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 ...

. She has groomed many Students. Some of her experimental productions conclude pure classical Gayaki like

Dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South Ind ...

Khayal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfor ...

Tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'') ...

Ashtapadis ''Ashtapadis'' or ''Ashtapadi'' refers to the Sanskrit hymns of the ''Gita Govinda'', composed by Jayadeva in the 12th Century. The ''ashtapadis'', which describe the beauty of Lord Krishna and the love between Krishna and the '' gopis'', are co ...

whereas others conclude folk lore and

Ballets Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Panihari ''Panihari'' is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divid ...

, Kesariya Balam,

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

, Rajputani,

Gangaur Gangaur ( hi, गणगौर, ISO 15919: ''Gaṇagaura'' ) is a festival celebrated in the Indian state of Rajasthan and Nimaar region (Barwani, Khargone, Khandwa etc.) of Madhya Pradesh. It is also celebrated in some parts of Gujarat and West ...

Ghoomar Ghoomar or ghumar is a traditional folk dance of Rajasthan. It was the Bhil tribe who performed it to worship Goddess Sarasvati which was later embraced by other Rajasthani communities. The dance is chiefly performed by veiled women who wear fl ...

, RadheyRani, Dashavtaar etc. to name a few.

Awards and honours

Shashi Sankhla has won many accolades, including

Sangeet Natak Academy 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 ...

(2001) by then

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Shri.

Ashok Gehlot Ashok Gehlot (born 3 May 1951) politician serving as the current Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He held this position from December 1998 to 2003, and from 2008 to 2013, and again from 17 December 2018. He represents Sardarpura constituency of Jo ...

and

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 ...

in 2008 by then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Smt

Pratibha Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...

. In addition to this she was conferred the Degree of

Doctorate of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

by Inter Cultural Open University,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(2003). She was also awarded Fellowship by HRD Ministry of Art and Culture on the topic "MAAND" (a semiclassical style of singing of

)-"Kathak Nritya Mein Abhinaya Ka Ek Sashakt Madhyam" that fulfills the much needed requirement of "

Thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dra ...

" of

. (2001-2003).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sankhla, Shashi Artists from Jaipur Living people Kathak exponents Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Performers of Indian classical dance Dancers from Rajasthan Indian female classical dancers Women artists from Rajasthan 1948 births

Early life and background

Career

Awards and honours

See also

References