Minati Mishra (1929 – 6 January 2020) was an Indian classical dancer and actress, known for her expertise in the Indian classical 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. 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 ...

honored Mishra in 2012, with the fourth-highest 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, ...

Early life

Minati Mishra, née Minati Das, was born in 1929 in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

, now in the Indian state of Odisha, to Basanta Kumar Das, a local school headmaster, as the youngest of his three children. She started to learn dance and music at an early age, theme-based dance under the tutelage of Ajit Ghosh and Banabihari Maity and Odissi from Kabichandra Kalicharan Patnayak, an Odissi dancer. In 1950, Minati Mishra started learning under

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 ...

, the well-known Odissi

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

. In 1954, Minati Mishra joined

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 ...

, on a scholarship from the

Government of Odisha The government of the Indian state of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the head of state of Odisha is the Governor, appoi ...

, and learned

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 ...

for one year under Kutty Sarada and Peria Sarada. The next year, she joined the Indian Institute of Free Arts for training under Panda Wallur Pillai Chukkalingam and Minakshi Sunderam Pillai. She debuted in 1956, the first of several performances she rendered, during the next three years, at a number of major cities in India. In 1959, she was invited to Switzerland by the International Photographic Association, and performed in Zurich, Lucerne, Geneva and Winterthur. Three years later, she was awarded a doctoral degree in

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the History of India, history and Culture of India, cultures, Languages of South Asia, languages, and Indian literature, literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a ...

from the Philipp University of Marburg, Germany for a thesis on ''

Natyashastra The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates var ...

''. In 1963, she was invited for a performance at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. She was noted for her expressive (

Bhava The Sanskrit word bhava (भव) means being, worldly existence, becoming, birth, be, production, origin,Monier Monier-Williams (1899), Sanskrit English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Archiveभव bhava but also habitual or emotional te ...

) and dramatization (

Abhinaya Abhinaya (Sanskrit ''abhi-'' 'towards' + ''nii-'' 'leading/guide') is the art of expression in Indian aesthetics. More accurately it means "leading an audience towards" the experience (') of a sentiment ('). The concept, derived from Bharata Mun ...

) skills.

Acting career

Mishra acted in five Odia films. Her debut film '' Suryamukhi'' was released in 1963, followed by '' Jeevan Sathi'', ''Sadhana'', and '' Arundhati''. All four received the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Odia The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Odia is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several a ...

. She also acted in a 1963

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film, ''Nirjana Saikate'' in which she has performed an

Odissi dance Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the 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 ...

. Apart from her film career she was also an A Grade artist at the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

and was a recipient of ''Sangeet Prabhakar'' title for Hindustani vocal music. Mishra was the principal of the Utkal Sangeet Mohavidyalaya, Bhubaneswar from 1964 till 1989. During her tenure there, the institution regularised its curriculum, academically formalised Odissi dance and music training, introduced theatrical aspects into the syllabus and established examination guidelines, all of which are reported to have helped in the revival of Odissi. The stint at the institution also gave her opportunity to work alongside the first-generation gurus of Odissi such as

Pankaj Charan Das Guru Pankaj Charan Das (1919-2003) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and the ''Ādi Guru'' of Odissi dance. He is known as the 'Father of Odissi dance'. Life He was the adopted son of a ''mahari'' (temple dancer) Ratna Prabha De ...

and

Deba Prasad Das Deba Prasad Das was an Indian classical dancer, considered by critics and connoisseurs as one of the four first generation gurus of the Indian classical dance form of Odissi. His Odissi style is robust and unique. He was a recipient of the 1977 ...

Retirement

Soon after the death of her husband, Nityananda Mishra, who was an engineer, in 1980, Mishra retired from dance performances and formally retired in 1990. She settled in Switzerland and devoted her time to dance festivals, lecture tours and workshops in Switzerland, Canada and India. She died on 6 January 2020 in Switzerland.

Filmography

Her films include:

Awards and recognitions

Mishra was a recipient of the 1975 Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. She also received the Kalinga Shastriya Sangeet Parishad Award and in 2000, she 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 ...

. In 2012, the

awarded her the

, the fourth-highest civilian award of India.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Minati 1929 births 2020 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Performers of Indian classical dance People from Cuttack Odissi exponents Indian film actresses Indian female classical dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Actresses from Odisha 20th-century Indian dancers Dancers from Odisha 20th-century Indian actresses Women artists from Odisha