Shubha Dhananjay to receive National Achievement Award from Srishti Institute of Performing Arts

Among the few artistes in the State to master both Bharatnatyam and Kathak, Shubha Dhananjay is a pioneer when it comes to using special Kannada compositions in her performances.

Shubha, who is currently president of the Karnataka Sangeeta Nrithya Academy, has also mastered several forms of folk art and is passionately involved in training her students in the same, at her dance institute Natyantharanga, which was established in 1987.

Over the past four decades, Shubha has amassed awards and accolades at state, national and international levels. Apart from judging dance competitions, Shubha produces ballets for Natyantharanga and grooms students at Karana, which she began in 2006, to impart vocal, instrumental, dance and yoga training. 

On May 5, the Srishti Institute of Performing Arts in association with the Rotary Bugle Rock organisation in Bengaluru, will bestow the National Achievement Award on Shubha. The award ceremony will be followed by her Bharatanatyam performance.

“I feel honoured and thank Srishti for extending this award to me. It is gratifying to be in a line-up of awardees that has included names such as Vyjayanthimala, Birju Maharaj, vocalist RK Srikantan and flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia among others,” says Shubha. 

Auspicious start

Born in Thirthahalli in Shimoga district to N Narasimhaiah, an engineer, and Lolakshamma, a dance and music enthusiast, destiny played a part in Shubha’s future when her father was transferred to Bengaluru when she was seven. “Eager to find a dance guru for me, my parents were thrilled when guru SV Srinivas, a simple man in a dhoti and kurta, arrived at our doorstep after hearing my sister and I were eager to learn dance,” says Shubha.

“We were undergoing fundamental lessons in the Mysore and Pandanallur styles when Guru Srinivas, who originally hailed from Madurai, had moved to Bengaluru and was looking to train students in the Tanjore style. We did not hesitate to join him as he belonged to a lineage of gurus who were instrumental in the establishment of Kalakshetra in Chennai.”

Though dance was a passion from childhood, Shubha’s family believed she would follow in her brother’s footsteps as he was pursuing medicine at Bangalore Medical College at the time. However, that was also when dancer Maya Rao shifted from Delhi to Bengaluru and began the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography that offered degree courses for dancers. “Nothing could stop me from knocking at her door, and the world of dance widened further for me.”

In the 1980s, the word choreography was novel, to say nothing of a degree in the same. Shubha explains that while artistes wondered what such a course would entail, students were equally curious about the possibilities this stream could offer.

“Our study of choreography was shastra-based and substantial, with Natyashastra as our foundation, with dimensions of stage, lighting, language and costumes. We were also exposed to the history of choreography, world history of dance, folk dances of India and the world, as well as ensemble production,” says Shubha, adding, universities and dance platforms eventually began inviting her for lectures on comparative studies and philosophies of choreography.

Globe trotter

Soon after Shubha’s Bharatanatya Ranga Pravesha in 1987, which was attended by the likes of art critics such as BVK Shastry, TB Narasimhachar, Gunagrahi and SN Chandrashekar, she was awarded the Best Dancer Gold Medals, at both the state and national levels. Following this, she was selected to perform at the Vishwa Kannada Sammelana in London.

“I have been on world stages for the last 37 years and looking back, it is gratifying to see thousands of students who trained at Natyantharanga come into their own. Among the awards I have received, I am grateful to have been selected as the Cultural Ambassador in Bali, Indonesia, and for the French Canadian Heritage Society Fellowship Award from Montreal University in Canada and the Ugadi Puraskar from the Lalithakala Academy among others.”

Sree Devi Mahatme, Mohini Bhasmasura, Srinivasa Kalyana, Kanmani Krishna, Radha Madhava, Mysuru Huli Tippu Sultan, and Kittur Rani Chennamma are a few of Shubha’s works that have been presented at major literary, cultural and religious festivals such as the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, Mysore Dasara, Mahamastakabhisheka at Shravanabelagola and the Hampi Utsava, apart from global dance festivals in the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Maldives, Nepal, Iraq, China, Cambodia and Malaysia. 

Shubha has also choreographed special ballets including Vachana Vaibhava which incorporates vachanas by saint poets such as Basavanna, Akka Mahadevi, Siddarama, Sarvajna, and Kuvempu.

Cherished treasures

While crediting her husband Dhananjay for being a pillar of support and steering Natyantharanga, she is happy her daughters Maya and Mudra perform with her, taking its legacy forward. “My father Narasimaiah was a multi-linguist and had translated several Bharatanatyam compositions from Tamil to Kannada. He also penned original compositions which I took up in my recitals and I plan to work on his spiritual compositions shortly. I believe my students will take this precious collection forward for posterity.”

Shubha regularly identifies talent from rural areas and trains them free of charge. She has also created large choreography sets with up to 600 dancers during Suvarna Karnataka and Dasara celebrations.

Shubha hopes to continue in her new role as the 16^th President of the Karnataka Sangeeta Nrithya Academy, where she not only dances and teaches, but also leads the way by organising dance and music events in India and abroad, to take the institution forward.

The National Achievement Award instituted by the Srishti Institute of Performing Arts will be presented to Shubha Dhananjay on May 5 at 5.30pm, at Ravindra Kalakshetra. Shubha will present a Bharatnatyam performance on May 5 and a Kathak performance on May 6, at 6.30pm, at the same venue. Entry free. Call 2224 1325 for details