Damayanti Joshi

Damayanti Joshi
Born	(1928-09-05)September 5, 1928 Mumbai, India
Died	Mumbai, India
Occupation	dancer, choreographer, dance instructor
Dances	Kathak

Damayanti Joshi (September 5, 1928 – September 19, 2004) was a noted Indian classical dancer in the Kathak dance form. Starting as young dancer in the troupe of Madame Menaka in the 1930s, which travelled to many parts of the world. She learnt Kathak from Sitaram Prasad of Jaipur Gharana and became an adept dancer at a very young age, and later trained under from Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow gharana, thus imbibing nuances from both the traditions. She turned solo in the 1950s and achieved prominence in the 1960s, before turning into her guru herself through her dance school in Mumbai.

She received the Padma Shri in 1970, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Dance in 1968, and had remained Director of the U.P. Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.

Early life and training

Born in a Hindi family in Mumbai in 1928, she grew up in the household of General Sokhey and his wife, the torch-bearer of Indian dance in the 1930s, Madame Menaka, under whose guidance she initially trained in Kathak under Pandit Sitaram Prasad. She danced and toured the world in Menaka's troupe from the time she was five and by 15 she had already performed at all the major cities of Europe, and was also receiving a full education. The Sokheys had employed Damayanti's biological mother and she was a rock that always stood by her daughter.

She was the first student at Mumbai's Sri Rajarajeswari Bharata Natya Kala Mandir, where she learned Bharat Natyam from Guru T. K. Mahalingam Pillai, doyen among nattuvanars.

Career

After the mid-1950s, Damayanti established herself as a successful solo Kathak dancer, taking training from Pandits, Achhan Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of the Lucknow gharana and Guru Hiralal of the Jaipur gharana. Particularly, at Kathak Kendra, Delhi, she trained under Shambhu Maharaj. She was the first person to introduce “Saree” as a costume in Kathak dance.

She also taught Kathak at Indira Kala Vishvaidyalaya, Khairagarh, and Kathak Kendra in Lucknow. She has been honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1968) and the Padma Shri (1970). She was also the guru to Bireshwar Gautam.

She has been featured in the documentary on Kathak in 1971 by Films Division, Government of India, and another film entitled "Damayanti Joshi" directed by Hukumat Sarin was made in 1973.

She died on September 29, 2004 at her home in Dadar, Mumbai, a year after she had suffered a stroke.

Works

• Madame Menaka, by Damayanti Joshi. Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1989.
• Rediscovering India, Indian philosophy library: Kathak dance through ages, by Projesh Banerji, Damayanti Joshi. Cosmo publications, 1990.

See also

• Kathak
• List of Kathak dancers