Kathak danseuse Sitara Devi passes away

MUMBAI: Kathak queen Sitara Devi died at a hospital here today.

She was 94. Born in 1920 in Kolkata, Sitara Devi drew from the themes, poetry and choreography collected by her father in her choreographies. She also got inspired from the environment around her - whether it is a town or a village.

The characters around her came live in her dance. "By training, I am just a 'kathakar' of Krishna-leela (tales of Krishna)," the danseuse used to say.

Kathak, which literally means 'katha', is a narrative drama which evolved out of the Krishna temples of hinterland to scale the pinnacle of glory in the Muslim courts.

Sitara Devi's roots were inextricably woven to the tradition of 'kathakars', the early Kathak dancers.

She was born as Dhannolakshmi to a family of Brahmin 'kathakar' Sukhdev Maharaj and chose school and dance over an early wedding, as was the norm of the 1920s.

Her father, a Vaishnavite Brahmin scholar and Kathak exponent, sent her to a local school where she impressed her teachers and the local media with her performance in a dance drama, "Savitri Satyavan".

When her father learnt of it, he re-christened her as Sitara or the star and placed her under the care of her older sister for kathak training.

By the time Sitara Devi turned 11, the family moved to Mumbai, where she impressed Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore with a three-hour solo recital.

Tagore offered her a shawl and Rs 50 which Sitara Devi refused and sought his blessings instead to become a great dancer.

Over the next six decades, she became a Kathak legend and was a pioneering force in bringing the genre to Bollywood.

Sitara Devi married director K Asif of Mughal-e-Azam fame and then Pratap Barot. She was a vital force who stood for zest and vigour in Indian dance.

She was honoured with the Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award 2011 for her contribution to the classical dance genre for over six decades.

In his condolence message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled her rich contribution to Kathak.