2011
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Kathak guru Pandita Ramadevi Lachchu Maharaj, widow and assistant of the
late guru Lachchu Maharaj of the Lucknow Gharana, died at the age of 86
in Mumbai on 24th December 2011.
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Mridangist Adyar Balu (Balakrishnan N V) passed away on the morning of December 13, 2011 at Chennai.
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Odissi Guru Bijoy Kumar Senapati passed away at the age of 75 on 8th December 2011.
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Legendary singer-composer, filmmaker
and writer, Bhupen Hazarika (8 September 1926 - 5 November 2011) passed
away in a Mumbai hospital, aged 85. Known as the 'Bard of the
Brahmaputra,' he served as Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi
(1999-2004) and helped place Sattriya dance on par with other classical
dance forms. He was a trained journalist. Dr. Hazarika produced,
directed, composed music and sang for Assamese films. He received the
National Award for Best Music Director in 1976 for 'Chameli Memsaab' and
President's medal for his films 'Shakuntala' (1960), 'Pratidhwani'
(1964) and 'Lotighoti' (1967). He composed the music for several
outstanding Bengali films, such as 'Jiban Trishna,' 'Jonakir Alo' and
'Chameli Memsaab.' He received several honors in his illustrious career
including Padma Shri (1977), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987),
Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1993), Padma Bhushan (2001), Asom Ratna (2009).
Dr. Hazarika was recognized as the first Indian music director for best
music internationally for the film 'Rudaali' at the Asia Pacific
International Film Festival in Japan in 1993. He has to his credit more
than one thousand lyrics and fifteen major books on short stories,
essays, travelogues, poems and children's rhymes. He was a member of the
Assam Legislative Assembly from 1967-72. He was also a member of Assam
Film Development Council and the Central Board of Film Certification.
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The doyen and founder of the Carina
Ari Foundations, Professor Bengt Häger, passed away on November 2,
2011 at the age of 95. Bengt Häger worked indefatigably to promote
dance as an independent art form and field of research, with its own
institutions in Sweden, such as Dansmuseet in Stockholm and the
University College of Dance and Circus (formerly the Institute of
Choreography), which he founded and led for many years.
Thanks to Bengt Häger's efforts, Swedish dance has been
internationalised, with guest performances by world-leading dance
companies and artists he brought to Sweden, and the international tours
he organised for Swedish dancers, such as the Cullberg Ballet. Bengt
Häger was active to the very end in the three organisations, the
Carina Ari Memorial Foundation, the Carina Ari Library and the Carina
Ari Foundation.
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Mathoor Krishnamurthi, former
director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan passed away on October 6, 2011 at
Bangalore. He had contributed a lot in building up London's Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan Kendra. Every dancer from Chennai who went to conduct
workshops and teach dance at Bhavan knew him and enjoyed his
hospitality. He was a dedicated soul and a great scholar.
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Sumitra Charat Ram, who patronized
the arts for 64 years, passed away in Delhi on
August 8, 2011, aged 97, after a protracted
illness. She was married to industrialist Lala
Charat Ram of Shriram Group for 68 years. In 1952,
she founded Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra to
promote, develop and propagate Indian classical
and folk music, dance and drama. Great
Kathak masters like Shambhu Maharaj, Sunder
Prasad-ji, Amjad Ali Khan's father Hafizali Khan
saheb, Dagar brothers, musician Amarnath-ji
and great gurus taught there. Also for many years,
Kathak Kendra was housed in their premises. Its
associated organisation is the Shriram Centre for
Performing Arts at Safdar Hasmi Marg, in the Mandi
House area, the cultural hub of Delhi. The centre
includes a theater for the performing arts, a
theatre repertory company and an acting school. A
notable achievement of the Kendra is the revival
of Kathak dance. Kathak Kendra was originally
established as the Kathak wing of the Shriram
Bharitya Kala Kendra in 1955, through the efforts
of Nirmala Joshi, the first secretary of the
Sangeet Natak Akademi, under the patronage of
Sumitra Charat Ram. The Kendra has also
contributed to the resuscitation of the Mayurbhanj
Chhau style. Noted musicians, singers and dance
gurus of the era worked at the Kendra. The Ram
Lila performed over 2000 nights both in India and
abroad has been one of its major achievements.
The Kendra houses an art gallery at the ground
level and its library has a large and rare
collection of books, audio and visual recordings
and extensive archives. To assist the Kendra in
achieving its objectives, the Bharatiya Kala
Kendra Trust in 1971 constructed and commissioned
Kamani Auditorium, the venue for most of the
prestigious cultural performances staged in New
Delhi, to provide an appropriate platform for
staging of the Kendra's own performances as well
as those of other cultural organizations. Sumitra
Charat Ram was awarded the Padma Shri by
Government of India in 1966. The first 'Sumitra
Charat Ram Award for Lifetime Achievement' was
given to Pt. Birju Maharaj in February 2011. Her
daughter Shobha Deepak Singh is currently looking
after the affairs as Director of Sri Ram Bharatiya
Kala Kendra.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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French choreographer Roland Petit
died on July 10, 2011 aged 87 in Geneva. From
Hollywood musicals to a Pink Floyd ballet, Roland
Petit's choreography raised the bar - and hemlines
- of dance for ever. France's leading
choreographer after World War II, he swept away
time-honored ballet taboos and his mix of
entertainment and art was seen on the concert
stage as well in films. He lived in Switzerland
for more than a decade.
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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BSS Rao, art critic, patron of
classical arts and secretary of Mysore based Sri
Lalithakala Academy Foundation, passed away in
Mysore on July 4, 2011 at the age of 82.
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Asad Ali Khan, the celebrated,
legendary Rudra Veena player passed away on June
13, 2011 at AIIIMS hospital in Delhi. He was
ailing for some time but we didn't expect the end
would come so soon. He passed away after a heart
attack in the hospital.
He was an awardee of Sangeet Natak Akademi and was
honoured by President of India with civil honour
Padma Bhushan. He was a great musician.
We all are neighbours at Asiad Village in New
Delhi - Jatin Das, Asad Ali Khan, Jayarama Rao and
Vanashree, Bharati Shivaji, sarangi player Sabri
Khan saab, theatre director Mohan Maharishi,
Odissi Guru Harekrushna Behara and I. All within
one block. A genial soul, he was like a father to
all of us. A great supporter of SPIC MACAY
movement, his contribution to Indian classical
instrumental music is vast. He will be missed a
lot.
- Sunil Kothari (New Delhi). |
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Artist MF Hussain (known as the
Picasso of India) passed away in a London hospital
at the age of 95 on June 9, 2011. |
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Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna, erudite scholar and the
greatest guru responsible for reviving the ancient
temple dance forms of Andhra Natyam and Perini,
passed away in Hyderabad on June 7, 2011. He was
88.
Obit/tribute |
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Vanaja Narayanan, an exponent of
Bharatanatyam and Carnatic vocal music, passed
away on May 19, 2011 at an old age home in
Chennai. Vanaja was one of the prime disciples of
KN Dhandayuthapani Pillai and a cousin of the
famed Madras Sisters, Kamala, Rhadha and Vasanthi.
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Bharatanatyam guru Nirmala
Ramachandran passed away on February 23, 2011 at
Chennai.
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Ellen Stewart, founder of La MaMa
Experimental Theatre Club and a pioneer of live
productions made outside Manhattan's Broadway
district, died on January 13, 2011. She was 91.
She founded La MaMa in 1961. In 1993 she was
inducted into the Broadway Theater Hall of Fame -
the first Off Off Broadway producer to receive
that honor.
Ellen Stewart was a visionary. Long before New
York City officially embraced multiculturalism and
plurality, she recognized and fostered cross
illumination in the arts through her fantastic
crucible the LA MAMA THEATRE. She was the
cheerleader, the matriarch and the pioneer in
accommodating difference in artistic expressions
and was one of the early champions of experimental
and innovative Asian performance. She was genuine
and a true original. |
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Eminent exponent of Tagore songs
Suchitra Mitra ((September 19, 1924 - January 3,
2011) died at her south Kolkata residence after
protracted illness, according to her family. She
was 86.
Acclaimed as one of the leading exponents and
authorities on Rabindra Sangeet, Suchitra Mitra
was surrounded by the aura of Rabindranath Tagore
and his music from a very early age. Her father,
the celebrated litterateur, Saurindra Mohan
Mukherjee, was a close associate of the Tagore
family of Jorasanko. Suchitra Mitra's natural
aptitude in music was recognized by Pankaj Kumar
Mullick , who gave her the first lesson in
Rabindra Sangeet. Mitra's inherent love and
commitment to Tagore's music encourage her to
found, Rabitirtha, which today stands out
significantly as one of the leading schools of
Rabindra Sangeet in the city. She retired in 1984
from Rabindra Bharati as a Professor and the Head
of Rabindra Sangeet Department. Suchitra Mitra was
honored with the Padma Shri in 1973 by the
Government of India and the Sangeet Natak Akademi
Award in 1986. |
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