Indu Mitha Explained

Indu Mitha (née Chatterjee) (born 1929) is a Pakistani exponent of Bharatnatyam[1] [2] [3] and one of only two in the nation (the other being Sheema Kirmani).[4] She also remained a faculty member at the Rawalpindi campus of the National College of the Arts, from which she has retired.[5]

Personal life

Indu Mitha was born in Lahore in 1929 as Indu Chatterjee, into a Bengali Christian family of Brahmin heritage that had converted to Christianity. She studied MA philosophy from Delhi University in 1951.[6] Her father, Gyanesh Chandra Chatterji, was a professor of philosophy and president of the Government College in Lahore, which was where Mitha grew up.[7] Her elder sister Uma Anand married famous Bollywood director Chetan Anand.[8] Her family moved to Delhi from Lahore during the Partition of India. In Delhi, she learned Bharatanatyam from Vijay Raghava Rao and Shrimati Lalita.[9] Mitha learnt modern expressional dance from the iconic choreographer and actress Zohra Sehgal.[10] After Independence, Mitha continued her dance training at Sangeet Bharat School and then later from S.V.Lalita.[11]

In 1951, she married Captain Aboobaker Osman Mitha, a Mumbai Memon against the wishes of her family, and moved back to Pakistan with him.[12] Their daughter, Tehreema Mitha is an accomplished Bharatnatyam dancer.[13] [14] [15]

Career

In the years following her husband's retirement, Mitha began teaching Bharatnatyam in Lahore. Her first position was at the Lahore Grammar school, where she became a celebrated dance teacher. Her students and her were even able to put on a full-on performance at the end of her first teaching sojourn.

Her early performances were at private all-women parties, military functions, and Red Cross charity shows or in front of the All Pakistan Women's Association.[16] She now does one show a year for private audiences, mostly all-women groups, due to the heightened atmosphere linked to the increasing Islamization in Pakistan.

Mitha ran an academy/school "Mazmoon e Shauq" to teach classical dance where she taught many students like Amna Mawaz Khan.[17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

Adaptations

To suit Pakistani cultural and religious norms, Mitha has altered the performance and style of the Bharatnatyam she teaches. She has composed Bharatnatyam songs in Urdu, due to her lack of understanding of Tamil, Telugu or Sanskrit, the three languages Bharatnatyam songs are traditionally composed in.

Awards

Mitha received President’s Award for Pride of Performance Awards (2020–2029) in August, 2020.[22] [23] [24]

Notes

Notes and References

  1. News: The Raqs Revival dance extravaganza . The Express Tribune . 9 March 2014 . en.
  2. News: From Bharatnatyam to Disco Deewane . The Express Tribune . 9 March 2015 . en.
  3. Aslam . Feriyal Amal . Choreographing [in] Pakistan: Indu Mitha, Dancing Occluded histories in "The Land of the Pure" ]. UCLA . en . 2012.
  4. News: Bharatanatyam in the time of the Taliban . 23 June 2009 . Nirupama . Subramanian . The Hindu . 6 July 2020 .
  5. http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=104680 NCA’s ‘Spotlight’ to feature Indu Mitha
  6. News: Indu Mitha's 90th birthday celebration was an evening of storytelling Art & Culture thenews.com.pk . www.thenews.com.pk . en.
  7. Tikekar 337
  8. News: In Memory of my Guru, Zohra Ji- by Indu Mitha. - Tehreema Mitha Dance Company. Mitha. Indu. Tehreema Mitha Dance Company. 2018-03-25. en-us.
  9. http://www.dawn.com/2008/04/04/nat14.htm Dance is thought and feeling, says Indu Mitha
  10. News: New generation lacks stamina for art: Indu Mitha . Zee News . 4 April 2008 . en.
  11. Web site: PechaKucha 20x20 . www.pechakucha.com.
  12. News: Faruqi . Asif Aqeel . Caste away: The ongoing struggle of Punjabi Christians . Herald Magazine . 2 October 2016 . en.
  13. http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2008-weekly/nos-01-06-2008/enc.htm Struggling to dance
  14. News: Reporter . The Newspaper's Staff . Tribute to classical dancer Indu Mitha . DAWN.COM . 1 March 2020 . en.
  15. News: Bettmann . Rob . Tehreema Mitha on "The Scent of My Earth"Bourgeon Bourgeon .
  16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8177057.stm Veteran dancer wins over Pakistan
  17. News: Indu Mitha's students mesmerize audience . DAWN.COM . 26 June 2005 . en.
  18. News: Yasin . Aamir . LIVING COLOURS: 'Future of classical dance, music in Pakistan is very bright' . DAWN.COM . 12 January 2017 . en.
  19. News: Mausikar arranges thrilling performance of dance and music . www.thenews.com.pk . en.
  20. News: Indu Mitha mesmerizes audience at Lok Virsa . PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVES . en . 30 November 2020 . 11 December 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201211150524/https://www.magazine.app.com.pk/art-culture/indu-mitha-mesmerizes-audience-at-lok-virsa/ . dead .
  21. News: Performing for a cause: Classical dances, music make for a charming evening . The Express Tribune . 28 September 2013 . en.
  22. News: DG PNCA Fouzia Saeed greets award recipients . The Nation . 18 August 2020 . en.
  23. News: Reporter . The Newspaper's Staff . Posthumous Nishan-i-Imtiaz for Sadequain, Ahmad Faraz . DAWN.COM . 15 August 2020 . en.
  24. News: President confers civil awards to 184 Pakistanis, foreigners for excellence, services . The Nation . 14 August 2020 . en.

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