"She chose a path less trodden and turned it into a road paved with gold as far as her dance was concerned. There will never be another Sitara Devi."
Sita Devi is a Kathak dancer. She is known as "Kathak Queen of India" . She was hailed as the " Nritya Samragni " by Rabindranath Tagore in the age of 16. We give tribute to her on 97th Birthday. She was born on 8th Nov 1920 in Kolkata on Dhanteras that is why She was named Dhanalakshmi (Dhanno). Her father , Sukhdev Mahajan was scholar of Sanskrit. He taught & performed Kathak & Bharata Natya Shastra in India. Her Mother, Matsya Kumari belongs to the Royal family of the Nepal .
She had two sisters named- Alaknanda & Tara and tow brothers named - Chaube & Pande. All had talent i.e Kathak, Bharata Natya Shastra, Sanskrit from their father.
Devi was to be married got married to to Nazir Ahmed Khan. She resisted, and wanted to be in a school. At her insistence, the marriage did not take place, and she was admitted into the Kamachha Garh High School.
As at that time there was not the craze of the Kathak to perform socially. Even, she entitled as the prostitutes. She got confidence by her father’s such statement: If Radha could have danced for the Lord Krishna, why not our girls? Her family changed their residence from Kolkata to Varanasi
While at this school, she performed a dance drama based on the mythological story of Savitri and Satyavan . After the dance drama, the Aaj newspaper reported about the cultural program emphasising that a little girl name Dhanno had enchanted the audience by her dance performance. Dhanno was re-christened as "Sitara" means star.
In the age of 10 , she was giving solo performances. in the age of 11 her family was shifted to Mumbai. As soon she reached there , Devi gave a kathak performance in Atiya Begum Palace before a select audience, which included Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu and Sir Cowasji Jehangir. She impressed Tagore who wanted her to give a special performance in Tata Palace of the Tata Group. Tagore gave her a shawl and a gift of Rs. 50 as a token of her appreciation. Recalling those moments, Devi once said: “But as I thrust out my hand to receive gifts, I remember my father hugged me and whispered in my ear: ‘Don’t take only the gifts! He is a great man: ask for his blessings, girl!’ Obediently, I asked Gurudev to bless me that I would become a great dancer some day.”
When she was 12, Devi was recruited by Niranjan Sharma, a filmmaker and a dance director. She has been choreographer for Kathak since 1930s. Her choreography has given the new ways to the film industry. She gave dance sequences in some Hindi movies including her debut in Usha Haran 1940, Nagina 1951, Roti, Vatan 1938, Anjali 1957 (directed by Chetan Anand, brother of Dev Anand). In Mother India 1957, she performed a Holi dance dressed as a boy, and this was her last dance in any movie.
Devi was married to the director K. Asif then Pratap Barot and has a son named Ranjit Barot .
She has performed in many corners of India as well as other countries. In 1967, she performed at Royal Albert Hall London and in 1976 at Carnegie Hall New York.
She has awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1969, the Padma Shree award in 1973, Kalidas Samman award in 1995 and Nritya Nipuna award by the then president R.Venkataraman. Some of her other awards are:
- She got best actress award for the movie ‘Vatan’ and ‘Najam’ in 1943.
- She has awarded for performing at the Royal Albert and Victoria Hall in 1967 and for prestigious Carnegie Hall, New York in 1976.
- She has also awarded with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademy award and Padmashri award by the Indian government.
Sitara Devi refusing to accept padma bhushan award. "it is my insult and not an honour , i will not accept any award less than bharat ratna," the artiste in her late seventies said reacting to honour bestowed upon her by the government. "little known people, who are younger to me have received padma vibhushan and i am being awarded padma bhushan," she said and asked "is this the way to treat a leading artiste."
She also danced Bharatanatyam, folk, Russian ballet and some type of western dances. She taught her Kathak style to some of the Bollywood film celebrities such as Madhubala, Mala Sinha, Rekha, Kajol and many more.
Sitara Devi, a Kathak legend, has honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award 2011 for her great contribution towards the classical Kathak over the six decades.
She died on 25 November 2014, at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai, after a prolonged illness
She was a force of nature who refused to be pigeon-holed into any pre-conceived idea of what you expected her to be.
She was demure when she wanted to be and, more often than not, as fierce as a full force gale. 'Never a dull moment' is the phrase that jumps to mind.
She was demure when she wanted to be and, more often than not, as fierce as a full force gale. 'Never a dull moment' is the phrase that jumps to mind.
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