Geeta Dharmarajan | |
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Born | Geeta Krishnaswamy 19 September 1948 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
Other names | K. Geeta |
Awards | Padma Shri: 2012 Millinnium Alliance Innovator. Instituted by USAID, Government of India and FICCI, 2013 [1] Stockholm Challenge:Contents[2] 2001 |
Website | www.katha.org |
Geeta Dharmarajan (born 19 September 1948) is a writer, editor, educator and the executive director of Katha, a nonprofit organisation that she founded in 1988. Her work focuses on education, especially of children from poor families.
Katha [3] [4] is a registered non-profit and non-governmental organisation based in Delhi in 1989. Katha works in teacher training, children's education and literature. Katha works in underprivileged areas across India. A teaching/learning tool that she devised, "story pedagogy", has been in use in Katha's learning centres since 2001.
Dharmarajan's professional editorial experience that began with Target, a children's magazine, and continued with The Pennsylvania Gazette, the award-winning alumni magazine of the University of Pennsylvania. Geeta's published works include more than 30 children's books and over 450 individual pieces in magazines and newspapers in India and abroad. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2012. [5]
Geeta Dharmarajan was born in Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in 1948. She was introduced early to the diversity of India through the work of her father, N. Krishnaswamy [6] a doctor and allergist. Her mother was Kalyani Krishnaswamy, [7] a poet and composer of classical Carnatic padams. [8] She started learning classical Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music when she was seven years old. She was educated in Holy Angels' High School where she represented the school in dance and netball. She was elected Head Girl of the school and led the south Indian contingent to the Bharat Girl Guides Jamboree in her final year. She graduated from Stella Maris College in English Literature, standing fourth.
Geeta is the editor in chief of Katha's list which includes the Katha Prize Stories. [9] She has edited stories from more than 300 of India's best literary talents, writing in 21 Indian languages. Katha Books are a showcase of contemporary Indian fiction for adults and children. [10] Katha introduced an array of writings from India's many oral and written traditions to children, ages 0 – 17. Classy productions, child friendly layouts and illustrations go in tandem with excellent writing. [11] [10] Her major activities include the institution of the Katha Awards for Literary Excellence, [12] and curating the Katha Festivals and utsavs that bring literature to the public. These create meeting places for writers, translators, scholars, critics, storytellers and contemporary artists and community activists. [13] Geeta led the writers workshop initiative for the central Board of Secondary Education, [14] with partnerships established in 500 schools in India [15]
The Katha Lab School started in 1990 with five children. [16] Today it is a centre of creativity for the slum cluster it is situated in, producing professionals every year who become entrepreneurs who support their families, or go on to higher studies. More than 80% of Katha's children go to college. It was recently visited by The Prince of Wales. [17] [18]
Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal, popularly known as D. K. Pattammal or DKP, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in Tamil. Pattammal, along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari, are popularly referred to as the female trinity of Carnatic Music. This trio initiated the entry of women into mainstream Carnatic Music. She has been appreciated all over the world by Carnatic music lovers.
Thalapathi (transl. Commander) is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language gangster drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam, and produced by G. Venkateswaran. The film stars Rajinikanth and Mammootty with Arvind Swamy in his feature-film debut, Jaishankar, Amrish Puri, Srividya, Bhanupriya, Shobana and Geetha in supporting roles. This is the Tamil debut of Bollywood actor, Amrish Puri. It is about a courageous slum dweller who befriends a powerful don and the attempts of a district collector to thwart them.
Sudha Ragunathan is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer and composer. She was conferred the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1994, Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2015) by the Government of India, and Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy in 2013.
Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu was one of the most important carnatic music violinists of the 20th century. Naidu was partially blind. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Fine Arts in 1953. Government of India conferred on him the Padma Shri Award in 1957. Several members of his family are also notable Carnatic violinists.
"Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung songs in multiple languages, including for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioner's in her family. Trained by Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.R. Balamani. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021. In December 2023, she was awarded the most prestigious award in the Carnatic Music Field, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi, by the Madras Music Academy. She was nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Song (Oscar) for Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi movie. She has become one of the most sought-after Carnatic musicians today.
Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy by the Government of India until 2022. In 2011, Aruna was the first Carnatic musician to perform at the BBC proms in London. She is also the first Carnatic musician to perform in Oud Festival of Israel (Jerusalem).
Porayath Leela was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist, and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Sanskrit, Odia, Gujarati, Marati. and also Sinhale. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration in the songs with Music Composers v.Dakshinamoorthy, MS Baburaj, G Devarajan, ghantasala, MS Viswanathan, K. Raghavan, Br Lakshmanan, LPR Varma, BA chithambara athletes, AT ummer, MK Arjun,Johnson, ouseppachan, ilaiyaraja, and with the playback singers KJ Yesudas and Ghantalasa over the years. Leela is known for her sweet and melodious voice that she named Ganamani. She was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2006. She made her debut as a playback singer in the 1948 Tamil film Kangkanam.
Gracy is a Malayalam author. Her first collection of short stories, Padiyirangippoya Parvati, was published in 1991. Her awards include the Lalithambika Antharjanam Award (1995), the Thoppil Ravi Award (1997), the Katha Prize for the Best Malayalam Short Story (1998) and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (2000). Her major works are Narakavaathil, Randu Swapna Darsikal, Kaveriyude Neru, Eezbu Penkathakal, Panikkannu and a collection, Gracyude Kathakal. Her stories have been translated into English, Hindi, Tamil and Oriya. She was the head of the Malayalam department, Al-Ameen college, Edathala, Aluva.
Katha Books is a publishing house owned by Katha, that works in the fields of Indian language translations, community empowerment and child welfare. It was founded in 1988 Geeta Dharmarajan.
Katha is a registered non-profit and non-governmental organisation based in Delhi that works in the field of community development, child welfare, education and literature. It was founded by Geeta Dharmarajan in 1988. It connects grassroots work in education, urban resurgence and story. It calls itself a "profit for all" organisation that moves towards achieving social justice and curb poverty in urban India. It also runs KITES a non-conventional school, which providing information and communication skills to 3000 children in slum area of Govindpuri, Delhi.
Suddhasattwa Basu is an Indian author, painter, illustrator, and animator. Born in West Bengal, he spent his childhood in a small town named Chandannagar, West Bengal. Basu studied fine arts at the Government College of Art & Craft in Kolkata. He began his career as an illustrator and designer for the children's magazine Target. He has illustrated several children's books. The Song of a Scarecrow (2002) written and illustrated by him received the Chitrakatha award, and a special mention at the Biennial of Illustration, Bratislava, Slovakia in 2003. He has conceptualised and illustrated many titles for the National Book Trust, such as Whatever you give and Ravan's Remedy, for preschool children. Basu's works include his nature illustrations for Khushwant Singh's Nature Watch, Delhi Through the Seasons and his work in Ka: The Story of Garuda (2004), by Roberto Calasso, retold by Geeta Dharmarajan. Basu designed, directed and animated India's first indigenously made animation television serial for children Ghayab Aya. It was made in ten parts and first telecast on Doordarshan in July 1990. Suddhasattwa Basu works and lives in New Delhi, India.
Saroja Vaidyanathan was an Indian choreographer, guru, and notable proponent of Bharatanatyam. She was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013 by the Government of India.
Leela Omchery was an Indian classical singer, musicologist and writer. She is known for her contributions to classical music and was a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India for her contributions to Indian classical dance and music.
Geeta Mahalik is an Indian Odissi dancer. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 2014 for her services to the field of art and culture.
Bertha Gyndykes Dkhar is a visually impaired Indian educationist, best known as the inventor of the braille code in Khasi. In 2010, the Government of India awarded her with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award.
Dr. Gayatri Sankaran is an Indian Carnatic musician and vocalist specialising in Carnatic vocals and violin performances. She is a recipient of the Kalaimamani award from Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu. The Government of India honoured her in 2006 with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for her contributions to music, making her the first visually impaired woman to receive the award.
Geeta Chandran is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer and vocalist. Trained in Carnatic music, she is a visionary and celebrated artist in Indian classical Bharatanatyam, recognized for her work in theatre, dance, education, videos and films.
Ananda Shankar Jayant is an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, scholar and bureaucrat, known for her proficiency in the classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. She is the first woman officer in the Indian Railway Traffic Service on South Central Railway and her 2009 TED talk is ranked among the top twelve Incredible TED talks on cancer. She is a recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kalaimamani Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu and Kala Ratna Award of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for her contributions to arts.
Parassala B. Ponnammal was an Indian Carnatic musician from the south Indian state of Kerala. She was a classical carnatic vocalist in the lineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. She was the first woman to perform at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram as a part of the Navaratri Celebrations of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.
Dr. Yashodhara Mishra is a Odia writer and poet. She is a professor of English who has published poems, several collections of short stories and novels. She was a fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.
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