Kumudini Lakhia

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Kumudini Lakhia (17 May 1930 – 12 April 2025) was an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat,[1] where she founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967.[2]

A pioneer in contemporary Kathak dance, she was credited with moving away from the solo form of Kathak starting in the 1960s, by turning it into a group spectacle, and also innovations like taking away traditional stories and adding contemporary storylines into Kathak repertoire.[3][4][5]

Early life and education

Lakhia started her Kathak training with Sohanlal from the Bikaner Gharana at age seven. This was followed by Ashiq Hussain of Benaras Gharana and Sunder Prasad of the Jaipur school. Encouraged by her mother, Leela, herself a classical singer, she was sent to further her training under the tutelage of Radheylal Misra, himself a disciple of Jai Lal. As a result, she completed her schooling in Lahore and college in Allahabad.[6]

Career

Lakhia started her career dancing with Ram Gopal as he toured the West, bringing Indian dance to the eyes of people abroad for the first time, and then became a dancer and choreographer in her own right. She learned first from various gurus of Jaipur gharana, and then from Shambhu Maharaj.

She was particularly known for her multi-person choreographies. Some of her most famous choreographies include Dhabkar (Pulse), Yugal (The Duet), and Atah Kim (Where Now?), which she performed at the annual Kathak Mahotsav in Delhi in 1980. She was also a choreographer in the Hindi film, Umrao Jaan (1981), along with Gopi Krishna.[7][8]

Lakhia was a guru to many disciples, including Kathak dancers Aditi Mangaldas, Vaishali Trivedi, Sandhya Desai, Daksha Sheth, Maulik Shah, Ishira Parikh, Prashant Shah, Urja Thakore and Parul Shah amongst others.

Personal life and death

Kumudini Lakhia married Rajnikant Lakhia, who was studying law at the Lincolns Inn and was a violinist with the Ram Gopal company before moving to Ahmedabad in 1960. She had a son, Shriraj, and a daughter, Maitreyi.

Lakhia died in Ahmedabad on 12 April 2025, at the age of 94.[9]

Choreographies

  • "Variation in Thumri" (1969)
  • "Venu Nad" (1970)
  • "Bhajan" (1985)
  • "Hori" (1970)
  • "Kolaahal" (1971)
  • "Duvidha" (1971)
  • "Dhabkar" (1973)
  • "Yugal" (1976)
  • "Umrao Jaan" (1981)
  • "Atah Kim" (1982)
  • "Okha Haran" (1990)
  • "Hun-Nari" (1993)
  • "Golden Chains" (for Neena Gupt, London)
  • "Sam Samvedan" (1993)
  • "Samanvay" (2003)
  • "Bhav Krida" (1999)
  • "Feathered Cloth – Hagoromo" (2006)
  • "Mushti" (2005)[5]

Awards and honours

References

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  6. ↑ Profile: A whole new whirl Suhani Singh, India Today, January 6, 2016.
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  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Renowned Kathak dancer Kumudini Lakhia passes away
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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Further reading

External links

Template:Padma Vibhushan Awards Template:PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19 Template:Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art Template:Authority control

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