Shovana Narayan is an Indian Kathak master and former civil servant with the Audit and Accounts Bureau of India. A student of legendary dance guru Birju Maharaj, she is known for bringing Kathak to the international stage by fusing it with Western classical dance forms such as Spanish Flamingo, American Tap and Classical Ballet. Shovana is a recipient of Padma Sri and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards and is an author and educationist.
Wiki/Biography
Shovana Narayan was born on Saturday, September 2, 1950, in Kolkata, West Bengal, India (age 74; as of 2024). Her zodiac sign is Virgo. She grew up in a family of intellectuals and social workers who trained her in dance, music and literature from infancy. She was introduced to Kathak at the age of two and a half. Her mother took her to Calcutta to meet her first mentor, Sadhana Bose (a famous Indian dancer and actress). From 1955, she received training from Guru Kundal Lal in Bombay. At the age of 4, she made her stage debut. From 1963 to 1974, she trained in Delhi under the famous Kathak dancer Guru Birju Maharaj.
Pandit Birju Maharaj, Master Shovana Narayan
Shovana graduated in 1972 with a Master’s degree in Physics from Miranda House, Delhi, India. She received her Master’s degree in Social Sciences from Panjab University in 2002 and her Master’s degree in Defense and Strategic Studies from Madras University in 2008. She joined the Indian Civil Service (Indian Audit and Accounts Service) in 1976 and retired in 2010. She currently works as a Kathak teacher, choreographer, researcher and social worker.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′4″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Shovana Narayan’s mother Lalita Narayan is a social activist and politician. Her father KD Narayan is a civil servant.
Picture gallery of young Shovana Narayan. On the far left are her parents KD Narayan and Lalita Narayan
Shovana Narayan has a sister, Ranjana Narayan, who is a classical singer and lawyer.
Ranjana Narayan, sister of Shovana Narayan
husband and children
After a long courtship, Shovana Narayan married Austrian diplomat Dr. Herbert Traxl on May 4, 1982. Herbert is now retired as Austrian Ambassador to India.
Shovana Narayan and her husband Herbert Traxl
Shovana Narayan has a son named Erwin Ishan Traxl, who is a lawyer. Her daughter-in-law is Perkha Ahmed, and they have a daughter named Lyla Traxl.
Shovana Narayan’s son Erwin Ishan Traxl and his wife Perkha Ahmed
other relatives
Shovana Narayan’s father-in-law was Erwin Traxl.
Erwin Traxl, father-in-law of twentysomething Shovana Narayan
address
Shovana Narayan G-9, Pushpanjali Farm, Shahi Road, Bijwasan (Near International Airport) Delhi – 110061 India.
Profession
Kathak dancers and instructors
Shovana’s career as a Kathak dancer came to prominence in the 1970s. She is credited with fusing traditional Kathak with Western classical dance forms such as Spanish Flamenco, American Tap, and Western Classical Ballet. Speaking about her connection with dance, Shovana Narayan once declared:
The dance form is my breath, my five elements, my energy and my soul. “
Shovana Narayan performs Kathak dance on stage
She became a Kathak student of legendary dance guru Pandit Birju Maharaj at the age of 13 and continued her studies for 12 years. Recalling him, she once said:
I am very grateful to him because he used to come to my house every day to teach me. He would come around 7:30 pm and teach me until 10:30 pm. When I got a national scholarship and studied at Kathak Kendra, he taught me all day on Sundays. Therefore, I have always been grateful to Jim Maharaj for his interest in developing me as a dancer. “
Shovana Narayan and her Kathak guru Pandit Birju Maharaj
Shovana started teaching Kathak by accident. Her guru Shambhu Maharaj died in 1973, so to support her family, she started taking Kathak classes and later realized she was good at it. She founded Aswari Kathak Academy in 1979.
Shovana Narayan trains her students in Kathak at Aswari Academy
Since the 1970s, Shovana’s Kathak performances have been rooted in social issues such as the environment, women and children. From 1993 to 1998, her dance works were based on philosophical themes derived from Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekanand, Ramana Maharshi, Ramakrishna… The lives of famous thinkers and saints such as Parahansa and Francis of Assisi. She did so with the late Professor Ramchandra Gandhi, the philosopher grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
Shovana Narayan’s famous choreography and dance performances include:
- Shakuntala – Maithili Sharan Gupt’s 1996 monologue on Yashoda.
- Yashoda – A monologue on Yashoda by Sitakanth Mahapatra in 2000.
- Kadambari: The Poet’s Muse – On the influence of Kadambari on his sister-in-law Rabindranath Tagore.
Shovana Narayan’s notable international collaborations as choreographer and dancer include:
- Moonlight Impressionism – This is about the music of Beethoven, Mozart, Ravel, Chopin, Vivaldi and Debussy.
- “After Dawn” – is the first trilogy involving Spanish flamenco and Western classical ballet. Shovana is the producer, creative director and dancer of the film.
- Voices of Emptiness and Harmony—A call for reflection after the World Trade Center incident.
Shovana Narayan has worked as creative director and choreographer for several international events such as the classical dance portion of India’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Independence at the National Stadium in 1997, the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the Sixth International Olympic Games in 2003.
author
Several research papers written by Shovana Narayan have been published in reputed newspapers such as The Tribune and Times of India. She has also written for journals of institutions such as UNESCO and Sangeet Natak Akedami. She has more than 500 articles and approximately 19 books to her name. Shawner wrote an autobiography called “The Meandering Pasture of Memory.”
Other books authored by Shovana include:
- indian classical dance
- Performing Arts in India: A Policy Perspective
- Indian theater and dance traditions
- Rhythmic Echoes and Reflections: Kathak
- Partiputra’s Dance Heritage
- Kathak
Kathak, a book by Shovani Narayan
- Authentic Indian Classical Dance Book
- indian folk dance tradition
- krishna in performing arts
- Kathak Lok Temple: Tradition and History – In collaboration with Geetika Kalha.
Shovana Narayan and Geetika Kalha at book launch
educator
Shovana Narayan has served as a member of the Board of Governors of prestigious higher education institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), and Indian Institute of Finance. She is a director of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA) and Al Gore’s India Climate Reality Project. She is also a motivational speaker.
civil servant
Chauvana was the first renowned Indian classical dancer to have a parallel career in the Indian Civil Service. She served as an officer in the Audit and Accounts Bureau of India until her retirement. She joined in 1976 and retired in 2010. He has held various positions in the Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Finance, BSNL, Federal Council and other departments. During the 1992 presidential elections, she was appointed Assistant Electoral Officer and appointed Director General of the Electoral Commission. International Center for Information Systems and Auditing (iCISA) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
Favorites
Food: Rice and lentils
Book: Bhagavad Gita
Movie: Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
Destination: Vienna
Awards
- Gaurav Praskar, Bihar (1985)
- Japan Oisca Award (1990-91)
- Sangeet Natak Academic Award (1999-2000)
- World Marketing Conference IMM Highest Cultural Ambassador Award (2002)
- Kelvinator’s GR8 Award (2007)
- FICCI Women of Distinction FLO Silver Jubilee Award (2007-2008)
- Kalpana Chawla Award for Excellence (2010)
- Women’s International Award (2010)
- Rotary International Award
- National Integration Award
In 1992, Shovana Narayan received the Padma Shri from President R. Venkataraman
Honors and Qualifications
- She was awarded the honorary title of D. Litt (hc) by the University of Khairagarh.
- Parishad Samman, Delhi Government
- Indira Priyadarshini Samman(1996)
trivia
- In the 1990s, she suffered a stroke that paralyzed the nerves in her eyes and lost half of her vision. She had a hole in her heart and was also battling knee, shoulder and skin problems. Talking about this being the only challenge in her life, she once said,
It was dance and total immersion that gave me the strength, courage and the ability to face life on my terms with a sense of nonchalance. For me, Kathak is yoga; it is complete meditation; it is bhakti yoga and bhakti marg to enhance the inner self.
- Her hobbies are reading, dancing, listening to music, sketching and walking. She loves architecture.
- She was an ardent devotee of Gurukul-Parampara and refined the ‘Guru-Shishya’ tradition into the terms of modern society and passed it on to the next generation.
- Shovana Narayan has won over 40 national and international awards for Kathak.
- Beenu Rajput’s 2016 documentary “Born to Dance” is based on the life of Shovana Narayan
Beenu Rajpoot to co-direct biopic ‘Born to Shine’ with Shovana Narayan
- Shovana is the first dancer to launch a dance video on the philosophy and legends of the immortal Khajuraho temple titled ‘Temple Dance’.
- She is an excellent organizer. Shovana created and organized festivals like Lalit Arpan Festival and Rhythm and Joy to promote Kathak dance as our cultural heritage.
Lalit Alpan Festival (2023) Invitation Poster by Shovana Narayan
- Shovana delves into the origins and connections of Kathak dance. She logically explained that Kathak is a Brahmin temple dance, dispelling the misconception that it was a Mughal court dance. She researched the Sanskrit term “Kathak” to question its association with Mughal culture. To do this, she collaborated with scholar KK Mishra, who helped her discover Kathak-related kathak-related kathak inscriptions in Ashoka-Brahmi texts dating back to the 4th century.
- Through research of official records and documentaries, she discovered eight Kathak villages near Gaya.
- Shawanna also tried her hand at acting. She starred in the 1996 Hindi documentary Akbar Bridge (Hindi)
- Director Jorn Thiel made a German documentary called “Das Geheimnis des Indisches Tanz”.
- American film director Robert Gottlieb also made a film about her.
- Shawanna was an opera singer. “Ghalib ki Dilli” and “Wicchare Pani” are among her operatic works.
- Shovana Narayan is an active social worker. She raises funds for families affected by tragedies such as the Kargil War and the tsunami.
- Amity University presented Agraja: Nari Shakti Samman to Shovana Narayan.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education