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Rajee Narayan | |
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Born | |
Died | 25 September 2020 89) | (aged
Occupation(s) | Bharatanatyam Dance Guru Choreographer Composer Musician |
Known for | Bharatanatyam |
Children | Shyamsundar Narayan |
Parent(s) | S. Narayana Iyer and Gangammal |
Awards | Sangeet Natak Akademi Award [2] Tagore Akademi Puraskar Sangeetha Sikshamani Swar Sadhna Ratna M. S. Subbulakshmi Award |
Website | www |
Guru Smt. Rajee Narayan (1931-2020) was a Bharatanatyam dancer, musician and composer living in Mumbai, India. [3] She was a rare combination of guru, musician, composer and choreographer, with the unique distinction of teaching not only Bharatanatyam, but also Carnatic Music, Natyasastra and Nattuvangam. She established her institution, Nritya Geethanjali in Mumbai in 1965. She has served as board member of the University of Mumbai, for over two decades and as the external examiner for the Bachelors and master's degrees in the Fine Arts courses (Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts) and examiner of thesis for Ph.D. [4]
Rajee Narayan was born on 19 August 1931 in Chennai, the 11th child of S. Narayana Iyer and Gangammal. Rajee started to learn Bharatanatyam at age 5, from her elder sister, Neela Balasubramaniam, founder-director, Nataraja Natya Niketan and K. Lalitha, founder-director, Sri Saraswathi Gana Nilayam. [5]
At the age of four, Narayan commercially recorded the composition, 'Neraminchakura' (Shankarabharanam raga – Ikana tala). She also released records on story-telling songs for children and some plays. At that early age, she had started acting and singing her own songs in the movies that her father produced. [6]
She participated in the dance-dramas and Kollata Jothrai festivals, conducted by Kadappai Lakshmiammal, through her sabha, Indumadar Lakshmi Vilasa Sabha, run specially for ladies. [7]
Narayan has composed over 200 songs for bharatanatyam and has published some of them in her book Nritya Geetamala (2 volumes). She has also released a book on the basics of carnatic music called Sangeeta Shastra Mala. She is also the author of Natya shastra mala, a book explaining the basics of natya shastram. [8]
Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of eight Indian classical dance forms recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism and in general of Hinduism.
Kuchipudi is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra. It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India.
Sattriya, or Sattriya Nritya, is a major Indian classical dance. This dance was initially created as part of Bhaona which are performances of Ankiya Nat, one-act plays, originally created by Sankardev, the 15th-16th century polymath from Assam. These dances are part of the living traditions today of Sattras, which are communities of live-in devotees belonging to the Ekasarana dharma, the religion established by Sankardev.
Indian classical dance or Shastriya Nritya is an umbrella term for various performance arts rooted in Hindu musical theatre styles, whose theory and practice can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra. The number of classical dances range from eight to more, depending on the source and scholar. The Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight – Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. Scholars such as Drid Williams add Chhau, Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the list. Additionally, the Indian Ministry of Culture includes Chhau in its classical list. These dances are traditionally regional. They consist of compositions in Hindi, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Sanskrit, Tamil, Odia, Telugu, or any other Indian language and they represent a unity of core ideas in a diversity of styles, costumes and expression. Currently, there are 9 official classical dances in India.
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