Minati Mishra | |
|---|---|
| Born | Minati Das 1929 (1929) |
| Died | 6 January 2020(2020-01-06) (aged 90–91) |
| Occupation | Classical dancer |
| Years active | 1956–1990 |
| Spouse | Nityananda Mishra |
| Children | One son |
| Parent | Basanta Kumar Das |
| Awards | Padma Shri Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademy |
Minati Mishra (1929 – 6 January 2020) was an Indian classical dancer and actress, known for her expertise in the Indian classical dance form ofOdissi. She was reported in 2011 to be the oldest-living Odissi performer.[1][2] TheGovernment of India honored Mishra in 2012, with the fourth-highest civilian award ofPadma Shri.[3]
Minati Mishra, néeMinati Das,[4] was born in 1929 inCuttack, now in the Indian state of Odisha, to Basanta Kumar Das, a local school headmaster,[4] as the youngest of his three children.[5] She started to learn dance and music at an early age, theme-based dance under the tutelage of Ajit Ghosh and Banabihari Maity and Odissi from Kabichandra Kalicharan Patnayak, an Odissi dancer. In 1950, Minati Mishra started learning underKelucharan Mahapatra, the well-known Odissiguru.[5]
In 1954, Minati Mishra joinedKalakshetra ofRukmini Devi Arundale, on a scholarship from theGovernment of Odisha, and learnedBharatanatyam for one year under Kutty Sarada and Peria Sarada.[6] The next year, she joined the Indian Institute of Free Arts for training under Pandanallur Chokkalingam Pillai and Meenakshisundaram Pillai. She debuted in 1956, the first of several performances she rendered, during the next three years, at a number of major cities in India.[5] In 1959, she was invited to Switzerland by the International Photographic Association, and performed in Zurich, Lucerne, Geneva and Winterthur.[5] Three years later, she was awarded a doctoral degree[7] inIndology from thePhilipp University of Marburg, Germany for a thesis onNatyashastra. In 1963, she was invited for a performance at theBerlin Film Festival.[5] She was noted for her expressive (Bhava) and dramatization (Abhinaya) skills.[8]
Mishra acted in fiveOdia films. Her debut filmSuryamukhi was released in 1963, followed byJeevan Sathi,Sadhana, andArundhati. All four received theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Odia.[9][10][11][12] She also acted in a 1963Bengali film,Nirjana Saikate in which she has performed anOdissi dance number choreographed byKelucharan Mahapatra.[13] Apart from her film career she was also an A Grade artist at theAll India Radio and was a recipient ofSangeet Prabhakar title forHindustani vocal music.[5][14]
Mishra was the principal of the Utkal Sangeet Mohavidyalaya, Bhubaneswar[15] from 1964 till 1989.[8][14] During her tenure there, the institution regularised its curriculum, academically formalised Odissi dance and music training, introduced theatrical aspects into the syllabus and established examination guidelines, all of which are reported to have helped in the revival of Odissi.[8] The stint at the institution also gave her opportunity to work alongside the first-generation gurus of Odissi such asPankaj Charan Das andDeba Prasad Das.[16]
Soon after the death of her husband, Nityananda Mishra, who was an engineer, in 1980, Mishra retired from dance performances and formally retired in 1990. She settled in Switzerland and devoted her time to dance festivals, lecture tours and workshops in Switzerland, Canada and India.[5]
She died on 6 January 2020 in Switzerland.[17]
Her films include:[17]
| Year | Film | Language | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Suryamukhi | Odia | Prafulla Sengupta |
| 1963 | Jeevan Sathi | Odia | Prabhat Mukherjee |
| 1963 | Nirjan Saikate | Bengali | Tapan Sinha |
| 1964 | Sadhana | Odia | Prabhat Mukherjee |
| 1967 | Arundhati | Odia | Prafulla Sengupta |
| 1967 | Bhai Bhauja | Odia | Sarathi |
Mishra was a recipient of the 1975 Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.[18] She also received the Kalinga Shastriya Sangeet Parishad Award[14] and in 2000, she received theSangeet Natak Akademi Award.[19][14] In 2012, theGovernment of India awarded her thePadma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award of India.[3]