Geetanjali Lal
Born
Geetanjali Desai

(1948-11-05) 5 November 1948
Baroda, Gujarat, India
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Artistic Director, Devi-Durga Kathak Sansthan[1]
Known forKathak dance and choreography
SpousePandit Devi Lal
ChildrenAbhimanyu Lal
Websitehttp://kathakresonance.com/

Geetanjali Lal (born Geetanjali Desai; 5 Nov 1948) is an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer.

Early life and education

Geetanjali Lal received formal training in Hindustani Classical music by her father, Rajnikant Desai – a well-known vocalist & professor of music and the disciple of Aftab-e-Mosiqui Ustad Faiyaz Khan of Agra Gharana.[2] She began formal training in Kathak dance at an early age of 6, under the distinguished Kathak danseuse Roshan Kumari.[3][4]

Geetanjali Lal continued with her formal training in Kathak dance under stalwarts – Pandit Gopi Krishna,[5] Shri Mohan Rao Kallianpurkar and Pandit Devi Lal of Jaipur Gharana.[6][2]

Career

She held the post of Chief of Repertory[7] and Director of Kathak Kendra from 2009-2012.[8] She is a top grade artist of Doordarshan and Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.[8]

Geetanjali's solo performances have been applauded by audiences wherever she has performed. She is well known for her abhinaya and other features of the Jaipur gharana, like laykaari, intricate rhythmic patterns in her footwork. Geetanjali Lal had, ringing out the year 2001, surprised the audience with her imaginative choreography drawing on the tragic earthquake in Kutch, the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, and the popular TV quiz show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati' starring Amitabh Bachchan.[7]

Geetanjali also acted in Kashmiri feature film – Shayar-e-Kashmir Mahjoor (1972) by Prabhat Mukherjee – in the lead role, alongside actors Balraj Sahani, Parikshit Sahni, Pran.[9][10]

Personal life

She was married to Pandit Devi Lal of Jaipur Gharana.[3][2]

Famous Kathak dancers Abhimanyu Lal (her son), Vidha Lal and Avenav Mukherjee are her disciples.[11][12][13]

Awards and honors

Also, she has been awarded the title of “Nritya Sharada”, "Natya Kala Shree”, “Bharat Gaurav”, “Kala Shiromani” "Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini award" and “Kalpana chawala award, "Jjijabai Women Achivers Award", "Acharya Kala Vipanchee"[8][13]

References

  1. ↑ "Devi Durga Kathak Sansthan presented two day Aavaratan Dance Festival". classicalclaps.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "India is immensely rich in heritage classical art forms: Kathak dancer Geetanjali Lal". www.mid-day.com. 11 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Where words fall short". Tribuneindia News Service.
  4. ↑ "TV channels reluctant to promote Kathak, say artists". Tribuneindia News Service.
  5. ↑ Sahai, Shrinkhla (31 March 2022). "How gharanas shaped modern Kathak". The Hindu.
  6. ↑ "Children must be aware of classical art forms: Kathak dancer Geetanjali Lal - Times of India". The Times of India.
  7. 1 2 "Welcome to High Commission of India, Colombo, Sri Lanka". hcicolombo.gov.in.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Kathak Guru Vidushi Smt. Geetanjali Lal - Apni Maati: Personality". spicmacay.apnimaati.com.
  9. ↑ "Shair-E-Kashmir Mahjoor (1972) Cast - Actor, Actress, Director, Producer, Music Director". Cinestaan.
  10. ↑ Naidu, Jaywant (12 March 2017). "Dance helps the mind and body". www.thehansindia.com.
  11. ↑ "Each other's shadow". Tribuneindia News Service.
  12. ↑ "'We complement each other'". The Hindu. 2 February 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 "Dance bonds this saas, bahu". www.tribuneindia.com. The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Ludhiana Stories.
  14. ↑ "President presents Akademi awards to 34 artists". India Today.
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