Sonal Mansingh is an Indian classical dancer who specializes in Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance forms. She is a Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan recipient and joined the Rajya Sabha as a nominated member in 2018. She established the Center for Indian Classical Dance (Shri Kamakhya Kalapeeth) in Delhi and serves as its current president. Sonal Mansingh has been nominated as NAVRATNA for Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She is a choreographer, a guru (mentor) and a motivational speaker.
Wiki/Biography
Sonal Mansingh was born on Sunday, 30 April 1944, in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Bombay, British India (now Mumbai, India) (age 80; as of 2024). Her zodiac sign is Taurus. She grew up watching famous artistes like Bismillah Khan, Siddheshwari Devi, MS Subbulakshmi and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan perform at her home as guests of the state.
Sonal Mansingh grew up in the presence of Ustad Bismillah Khan, a state guest at her grandfather’s residence.
Sonal was asked to learn Manipuri dance at the age of 4 and started studying Bharatanatyam at the age of 7 under many masters at Pandanallur School. When she was 17 years old, she gave her first performance at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in Bombay (now Mumbai). From the age of 18, Sonal Mansingh learned professional Bharatanatyam dance from American professors Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi in Bangalore.
Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi, USA, Bharatanatyam Gurus of Sonal Mansingh
In 1965, she met Cuttack Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra through her father-in-law, Dr. Mayadhar Mansingh, and started her professional Odissi training.
Sonal Mansingh and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
She also studied BA (Hons) German Literature. “Kovid” and “Praveen” degrees in Sanskrit from Elphinstone College and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay (now Mumbai) respectively.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′3″
Hair color: black
Eye color: dark brown
family
Sonal Mansing comes from a Gujarati family.
Parents and siblings
Sonal Mansingh’s father Arvind Pakwasa and mother Purnima Pakwasa were both activists in the Indian freedom movement.
Sonal Mansingh with her parents in 1949
Her mother was a well-known social worker who was awarded the Padma Shri and was affectionately known as the “Didi of the Party”. Poornima Pakvasa runs a vocational college for tribal girls in Saputara, Gujarat.
Sonal Mansingh and her mother Poornima Pakvasa
Sonal has two siblings. Her sister Arti Mehta passed away from cancer in 2020.
Sonal Mansingh and her sister Arti Mehta
Her brother Anuj Pakvasa is a numismatist.
Anuj Pakvasa, younger brother of Sonal Mansingh
husband and children
Sonal Mansing had two failed marriages. She married former Indian diplomat Lalit Mansingh on 3 August 1963 and divorced in 1973; she subsequently separated from Georg Lech.
Lalit Mansingh, former Indian Ambassador to the United States and husband of Sonal Mansingh
other relatives
Her grandfather, Mangal Das Pakvasa, was a lawyer and freedom fighter by profession and one of the first five Governor-Generals of independent India.
Sonal Mansingh and her grandfather Mangal Das Pakvasa
address
Current address – 11, Janpath, New Delhi
Permanent Address – Center for Indian Classical Dance, Gulmohar Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110015
Profession
Dance and Choreography
Sonal Mansingh is popular for Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance forms. She is also a trained Manipuri and Kuchipudi dancer. In 1962, she performed her first arangetram (stage performance) in Bombay. Her performances are mostly based on Indian mythology. In 1977, Sonal Mansingh opened an institution called Center for Indian Classical Dance (CICD) in Delhi to promote and produce Indian classical dance works.
Sonal Mansingh performs Bharatnatyam mudra
Sonal Mansingh’s famous choreography includes:
- Mukti (2002) – On the subject of liberation, Sonal believed that liberation is achievable now and not after death.
- Sundari (2001) – A Bharatanatyam work depicting the beauty of women.
- Manawatha (1998) – Sonal Mansingh dances with life-sentence inmates of Tihar Jail to celebrate International Human Rights Day.
- Mera Bharat (1997) – a dance about ecology and the environment choreographed to celebrate India’s Golden Jubilee of Independence.
- Panch Kanya, Devi Durga and Aatmayan (1995) – A show based on different stories from Indian texts, highlighting themes of social inequality and realizing inner spiritual power.
- Dharma – Sringaara (Love: Body and Spirit) (1994) – About Draupadi’s dilemma when he decides to share it among 5 brothers.
- Shiva -Tandava (1988) – Chhau and Odissi performances.
- Ashta-Nayika (1984) – Eight Emotional Stages of a Woman in Love
MP
Sonal Mansingh is a nominated member of the House of Federation. Former Indian President Ram Nath Kovind nominated her in 2018. She took office on July 14, 2018 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. As a Member of Parliament, Sonal Mansingh served as a member of the Transport, Tourism and Culture Committee, the National Cadet Corps Central Advisory Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Advisory Committee and the Empowerment Committee. female. She also called for protection of Indian classical dance forms in a parliamentary meeting.
In Parliament, I emphasized the protection of India’s intangible heritage, such as the various dance forms of Natya Shastra. Neglecting solo dances, such as the Ekar, risks losing important cultural elements.#parliament #rajasaba @VPIndia @ShefVaidya pic.twitter.com/aVmR0ZDDIw
— Modi Ka Parivar (@sonal_mansingh) December 12, 2023
Awards
- Sangeet Natak Academic Award (1987)
- Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence (1991)
- Padmasambhava (1992)
Sonal Mansingh was awarded the Padma Shri in 1992
- Indira Priyadarshini Award (1994)
- Order of Friendship from the Cuban Council of State (1995)
- Lifetime Achievement Award (2019)
Sonal Mansingh receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Sonal is the recipient of several national and conference awards.
Honors and Qualifications
- Awarded Doctor of Science (Honours) from GB Pant University, Uttarakhand.
- Awarded Doctor of Letters (Honours) from Sambalpur University.
Achievement
- From 2003 to 2005, she served as the Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi.
- She served on the Board of Directors of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA) from 2000 to 2004 and 2016 to 2018.
- She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts.
salary
Sonal Mansingh’s salary as a member of the Lok Sabha is approximately Rs. 2.10 lacs (including office expenses) plus other allowances.
Assets and property
Sonal Mansingh does not own any property. She once said in an interview,
I have been homeless in Delhi for five years. But even today I am homeless. I don’t have any property. I have been living in a rented Gall House because I invested money in establishing an institution, the Center for Indian Classical Dance, which celebrated its 40th anniversary on April 30. I never wanted a home or land because the body was the only home I ever had.
Favorites
- Food: Khandvi (Gujarati cuisine)
- India Destination: Kamaja Temple, Guwahati, Assam.
Facts/Trivia
- Sonal Mansingh is the youngest person to receive the Padma Shri and Padma Shri. She is also the second female dancer to be awarded the Padma Shri after Balasaraswati.
Sonal Mansingh receives Padma Vibhushan Medal from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
Sonal Mansing’s family did not want her to pursue dancing as a career, so she ran away from home on a college scholarship and traveled to Bangalore, where her teacher Krishna Rao and her family took care of her. After that, she never went back to live with her family.
- In 1975, when her dancing career was at its peak, she was involved in a serious car accident that fractured her 12th vertebrae. She was told she would never be able to dance. However, Sonal Mansing soon started dancing again.
- Her hobbies are reading and traveling. She has traveled to over 90 countries. She wrote a book called Classical Dance.
Cover of Sonal Mansingh’s book Classical Dance
- Sonal Mansingh received Rs. 250 as a reward for her first stage performance, which was opposed by her grandfather’s friend Morarji Desai.
- Sonal Mansingh’s parents did not approve of her relationship with Lalit Mansingh.
- Sujata Prasad has written a biography of Sonal Mansingh titled Sonal Mansingh: An Unparalleled Life. She calls Sonal ‘Appa’ or sister.
- She has also received training in Hindustani and Carnatic classical vocal music from Professor KG Ginge and Professor Sri Venkataraman respectively.
- On May 1, 2002, the documentary Sonal, directed by Prakash Jha, premiered at the India Habitat Center in New Delhi to commemorate the 40th anniversary of her career. It won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film of the Year.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education