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Sanjukta Panigrahi, the legendary Odissi danseuse, restored to a forgotten art form, the status of an exalted classical dance.
Born in Berhampur, Orissa, Sanjukta began training at the tender age of four. A gifted child, her passion for dance was such that she had to be begged to come offstage after a performance. At nine years, she won the first prize in International Children’s Film Festival.
Sanjukta made it her life’s mission to popularize the Odissi dance. Among her sterling efforts was the adroit choreography of dance ballets with versatile, non-conventional subjects like the Bhakti poetry and Tagore’s works as their theme. As was her endeavour to systematize the Odissi, root it in tradition and establish it as a genre in its own right. Sanjukta’s own performance was imbued by an intense spirituality and impeccable grace.
For her pioneering contribution to the Odissi dance, Sanjukta was awarded the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Sadly, her phenomenal life was cut short by cancer. She was only 53.
Why we find her inspiring?
– Because she resurrected an ancient dance form from the limbo of neglect
– Because her dedication towards her art was unsurpassable
– Because in spite of several personal struggles, she did not lose sight of her life’s calling
– Because with all the fame and accolades, she remained a grounded and empathetic human being
Suggested Readings:
A colleague remembers
Sanjukta performs the Mukhari Pallavi (video)
*Photo credit: Wikipedia
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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