Dr. Sonal Mansingh (born Apr 30, 1944) is an eminent Indian classical dancer and choreographer of Odissi

Odissi

Odissi, also spelled Orissi , is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. It originates from the state of Orissa, in eastern India. It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences. The classic treatise of Indian dance, Natya Shastra, refers to it as...

 dancing style; who is also proficient in other Indian classical dancing styles including Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi

Kuchipudi

Kuchipudi is a Classical Indian dance form Andhra Pradesh, India. It is also popular all over South India. Kuchipudi is the name of a village in the Divi Taluka of Krishna district that borders the Bay of Bengal and with resident Brahmins practicing this traditional dance form, it acquired the...

, and Chhau

Chhau dance

thumb|A video of Chau dance in PuruliaChhau dance is a genre of Indian tribal martial dance which is popular in the Indian states of Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal...

.

Early life and background

Sonal Mansingh was born in Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, second of three children to Arvind and Poornima Pakvasa, a noted social worker from Gujarat and Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

 winner in 2004. Her grandfather was Mangal Das Pakvasa

Mangal Das Pakvasa

Mangaldas M. Pakvasa, a freedom fighter and one of the first five Indian Governors, served as the first President of the Bharat Scouts and Guides from 1953 to November 1960....

, a freedom fighter, and one of the first five Governors of India.

She started learning Manipuri dance

Manipuri dance

Manipuri dance is one of the major Indian classical dance forms. It originates from Manipur, a state in north-eastern India on the border with Myanmar . In Manipur, surrounded by mountains and geographically isolated at the meeting point of the orient and mainland India, the form developed its own...

 at age four, along with her elder sister, from a teacher in Nagpur

Nagpur

Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...

, then at age seven she started learning Bharatnatyam from various gurus belonging to the Pandanallur school

Pandanallur style

The Pandanallur style of Bharata Natyam is mainly attributed to Minakshisundaram Pillai . He was a dance Guru who lived in the village of Pandanallur, which is in the Thanjavur district in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-The teachers:...

, including Kumar Jayakar in Bombay

She has "Praveen" and "Kovid" degrees in Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...

 and B.A. (Hons) degree in German Literature from Elphinstone College

Elphinstone College

Elphinstone College is an institution of higher education affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges of the University of Mumbai. It was exalted as a prestigious seat of learning during the British Raj and is generally observed for its vibrant alumni...

, Bombay.

Though, her real training in dance started when at age 18, despite her family's opposition, she went to Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, to learn Bharatanatyam from Prof. U. S. Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi at age 18, abhinaya from Mylapore Gowri Ammal, and later started learning Odissi from Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra

Kelucharan Mohapatra

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was an Indian classical dancer, guru and proponent of Odissi dance, who is credited for the revival of the classical dance form in the 20th century....

 in 1965.

Career

Sonal Mansingh dancing career which started in 1962, after her arangetram in Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, and in 1977, she founded, Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD) in New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

.

Over the years, dance has taken her all over the world and brought her many awards, including the Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

 (1992), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...

 in 1987
, and the Padma Vibhushan

Padma Vibhushan

The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...

, India's the second highest civilian award, in 2003; making her the first woman dancer in India to receive such an honour. This was followed by Kalidas Samman

Kalidas samman

The Kalidas Samman is a prestigious arts award presented annually by the government of Madhya Pradesh in India. The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language.The Kalidas Samman...

 of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....

 Government, in 2006 and on April 21, 2007, she was conferred with Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by G.B. Pant University

Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology

G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology is the first agricultural university of India. It was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru on 17 November 1960 as the Uttar Pradesh Agricultural University...

, Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

 at Pantnagar

Pantnagar

Pantnagar is a town and a University campus in Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand. Nainital, Rudrapur and Kiccha, Haldwani are the major cities surrounding Pantnagar....

.

To mark the completion of her 40 years in dancing in 2002, noted Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 film director, Prakash Jha

Prakash Jha

Prakash Jha is an Indian film producer-director-screenwriter, who is most known for his political and socio-political films such as Damul , Mrityudand , Gangaajal , Apaharan and multistarrer hit movie Raajneeti...

 made a documentary film on her, title Sonal, which also won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film

National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film

The National Film Award – Best Non-Feature Film is given by the Directorate of film festivals under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The winners are given a Swarna Kamal and a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000.-Winners:...

for the year.

Choreographies

• Indradhanush
• Manavatta
• Mera Bharat
• Draupadi
• Gita Govinda
• Sabras
• Chaturang
• Panchkanya
• Devi Durga
• Aatmayan
• Samanavaya

Quotes

• "A dancer is not just a dancer. She is part of this environment. She does not exist in a vacuum. Society and its happenings have an impact on all individuals, especially artists. If an art form does not reflect the existing milieu, it stagnates."

• "Radha is a grand image too but she's a personification of love without which there is no creation. In our male-dominated mythology the image of Krishna at the feet of Radha, begging for her love, is most unusual. Gita Govind invokes deep spiritual thoughts, packaged in beautifully written verses".

Further reading

• Sonal Mansingh Contribution to Odissi Dance by Jiwan Pani. 1992, Centre for Indian Classical Dances. ISBN 8173040028.
• Bharata Natyam: Indian Classical Dance Art, by Sunil Kothari. MARG Publications, 1979. Page 169-170.

External links