Nahid Siddiqui Explained

Nahid Siddiqui
Nationality:British Pakistani
Birth Place:Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Occupation:Kathak choreographer, dancer
Organizations:Nahid Siddiqui Foundation
Education:
Years Active:1970s – present
Parents:Talat Siddiqui (mother)

Nahid Siddiqui (born 1956[1]) is an exponent of Kathak dance.[2] [3]

She has been a disciple of two great teachers: Maharaj Kathak (Pakistan) and Birju Maharaj (India). She has against all odds and challenges, spent decades of her life breathing hope, vitality, and exuberance to a dance form that has received very little state patronage and support. Through sheer perseverance, she has not only earned the reputation of a prolific artist but has also singlehandedly set a formidable standard of quality, a refined sensibility of aesthetics, and an intricate system of technical expertise that has received much acclaim all over the world. She is acknowledged for contributing her own style, technique, and expression (Gharana), which is imbued and informed by Islamic and Sufi aesthetics, sensibilities, and longing for ultimate union.[4] Siddiqui is ever-evolving her craft as she performs at major venues, festivals, and television worldwide.[5] [6]

She has been the recipient of several awards, including Pakistan’s Pride of Performance, the UK’s British Cultural Award, and the International Dance Award.she is the main character of the spirtual novel “sitaroon Bhari raat”(The stary night) which is written by Canadian Pakistani writer Waseem Raza Syed.[7] [8]

Early life

Nahid was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan in 1956. She is the eldest daughter of actor Talat Siddiqui[9] and Mohammad Bashir Siddiqui.[1] At the age of 3, she moved to Karachi with her parents. Her parents enrolled her in Happy Home School, Karachi. In the late 1960s, she moved to Lahore with her parents and joined the University of Home Economics formerly known as Home Economics College.

Life and Works

It was under the tutelage of the distinguished teacher Baba Maharaj, and later, Pandit Birju Maharaj, that Nahid Siddiqui, embarked on a journey to delve deep into Kathak, becoming the only Pakistani to extensively explore the physical and theoretical nuances of this ancient dance form. Nahid started learning Kathak from Baba Maharaj Ghulam Hussain Kathak in 1971. In 1976, Nahid Siddiqui had the honor to travel with the entourage of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and represent Pakistan as a Kathak dancer, embarking on a journey that would make her strive to root and evolve Kathak in Pakistan.[10] She has performed in the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Morocco, and Jordan and has mesmerized and delighted audiences that have often comprised international dignitaries. Some of them were the Late Shah of Iran and Khanum Farah Diba, Chancellor Schmidt ofWest Germany, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of Canada, King Hussein of Jordan, and King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan. Payal, a dynamic thirteen-episode visual encyclopedia, aired in 1978, to date remains the only such endeavor in Pakistan in which Nahid Siddiqui collaborated with classical musicians, creating a masterpiece, which shed light on Kathak in a society where there was very little awareness of this art. Payal, however, was banned and taken off air by the military regime after its sixth episode was aired on TV. Nahid Siddiqui has since been symbolic of resistance against extremist ideologies, beautifully using her art to exemplify Islamic culture in a way not seen before. This production is now viewed and studied by ardent Kathak dancers around the world. In England, where she lived in exile, Nahid Siddiqui inculcated the paradigms of Islamic geometry, Sufi poetry, Persian, Arab and Turkic influences in Kathak. Through the in-depth understanding of Islamic geometry, Nahid Siddiqui has greatly enhanced the visual vocabulary of Kathak by striving to find the perfect posture and body alignment to paint evocative lines and compositions. She is one of the very few Kathak dancers' who is renowned for her finesse and immense sophistication in movement. While in England, she provided her students a different perspective of Kathak, which was and is still not being explored in India. In England, she became the first Pakistani to teach at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, (Indian Cultural Centre). She began her teaching career at the Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham. She launched her dance company and since then has continued to produce professional dancers, some of whom have gone on launch their own companies in England and around the world. Those worth mentions include Late Jahanara Akhlaq, Sonia Kundi, and Simmi Gupta. It is noteworthy to mention that while she was teaching dance in England, she received patronage from the Art Council from 1990 onwards and trained many dancers of western descent. In times of violence, in a country facing an identity crisis, where ancient cultural teachings have been left to decay, she revisited her roots in Pakistan to do her bidding. By showing young Pakistanis the beauty of the ancient arts in a modern and free environment, she gives nourishment to a true culture of the East. Unlike general Kathak endeavors in Pakistan, her technique has a proper curriculum, which in its physical aspect is as strict as ballet. Nahid Siddiqui has been holding lecture demonstrations and workshops in Pakistan. Since 2005, she has taught Kathak at the privately run Lahore Chitrakar and in the department of Musicology at the National College of Arts, Lahore. She has also worked extensively with the prestigious Agha Khan University in Karachi and held workshops there.[11] She continues to live in Lahore, Pakistan and keeps dance alive by holding routine performances for the young audience. She is running her own organization named Nahid Siddiqui Foundation, which works for Dance, Yoga, and Music.[12] [8] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Awards & Achievements

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Nahid Siddiqui . Siddiqui, Nahid . Oxford Reference . 30 September 2021 . 10 November 2020 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-517369-7 . 29 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211029173420/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195173697.001.0001/acref-9780195173697-e-1605 . live.
  2. Web site: Nahid Siddiqui: A 'katha' of this life . 29 March 2018. 19 August 2020. 26 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210726161540/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1672365/nahid-siddiqui-katha-life. live.
  3. Web site: Muslims in the Hindu Dancing Arts: A History . Brown Girl . Magazine . 26 October 2016 . India News, Breaking News | India.com. 11 October 2022. 22 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210722010951/https://www.india.com/lifestyle/muslims-in-the-hindu-dancing-arts-a-history-1616779/. live.
  4. Web site: Global Marriages? How Some Biz Girls Escaped Them! | MISCELLANEOUS - MAG THE WEEKLY . magtheweekly.com. 11 October 2022. 30 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210730022823/https://magtheweekly.com/detail/4735-global-marriages-how-some-biz-girls-escaped-them. live.
  5. Web site: Nahid Siddiqui. 19 August 2020. 11 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221011180129/https://www.darbar.org/404. live.
  6. News: Inner landscapes . Anjana . Rajan . The Hindu . 15 December 2013 . www.thehindu.com. 19 August 2020. 25 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140325000431/http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/inner-landscapes/article5462863.ece. live.
  7. Web site: Reclaiming space | Special Report | thenews.com.pk . www.thenews.com.pk. 19 August 2020. 11 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221011180106/https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/555768-reclaiming-space. live.
  8. Web site: Kathak dance: In the mystical world of Nahid Siddiqui . 28 April 2013 . The Express Tribune. 11 October 2022. 2 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131002225119/http://tribune.com.pk/story/541794/kathak-dance-in-the-mystical-world-of-nahid-siddiqui/. live.
  9. Web site: Talat Siddiqui – Cineplot.com. 26 January 2021. 17 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200617173101/http://cineplot.com/talat-siddiqui/. live.
  10. Web site: Katha of the Soul – World renowned Kathak dancer Nahid Siddiqui – program at Aga Khan University . 28 March 2007. 22 February 2021. 26 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126000835/https://ismailimail.blog/2007/03/28/katha-of-the-soul-world-renowned-kathak-dancer-nahid-siddiqui-program-at-aga-khan-university/. live.
  11. Web site: Nahid Siddiqui | Special Lecture Series | The Aga Khan University . www.aku.edu. 22 February 2021. 10 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210410191434/https://www.aku.edu/events/sls/Pages/nahid-siddiqui.aspx. live.
  12. News: Inner landscapes . The Hindu . 15 December 2013 . Rajan . Anjana. 22 February 2021. 25 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140325000431/http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/inner-landscapes/article5462863.ece#!. live.
  13. Siddiqui . Nahid . Candy Palmater . Candy Palmater . How dance icon Nahid Siddiqui defied a ban on her artform . 29 September 2016 . . . en . 11 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160930043410/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/schedule-for-thursday-september-29-1.3781984/how-dance-icon-nahid-siddiqui-defied-a-ban-on-her-artform-1.3782068 . 30 September 2016 . live.
  14. Web site: Pursuing Pauses with Patience at Angikam Seminar . The Dance Current - Canada's Dance Magazine. 22 February 2021. 16 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210916031304/https://www.thedancecurrent.com/feature/pursuing-pauses-patience-angikam-seminar. dead.
  15. Web site: Schedule - BBC Programme Index . genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 11 October 2022. 20 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210720075535/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_radio_two/1995-01-18. live.
  16. Web site: A dancing ovation to Nahid Siddiqui . Shoaib . Ahmed . 30 April 2014 . DAWN.COM. 11 October 2022. 22 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210722093804/https://www.dawn.com/news/1103187. live.
  17. News: Vellat . Anuradha . Taking the pandemic in their stride . 8 November 2020 . . en . 11 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220528100442/https://www.deccanherald.com/sunday-herald/sunday-herald-art-culture/taking-the-pandemic-in-their-stride-911988.html . 28 May 2022 . live.
  18. News: Nahid Siddiqui: A 'katha' of this life . 29 March 2018. 29 March 2018 . The News). 26 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210726161540/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1672365/nahid-siddiqui-katha-life. live.
  19. News: Kathak: The joy of flight . 26 October 2011. 26 October 2011 . The Tribune). 28 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111028165920/http://tribune.com.pk/story/282480/kathak-the-joy-of-flight/. live.
  20. News: IAWRT Seminar 2014 HUM GUNAHGAAR . 30 June 2022 . 30 June 2022 . Archive.ORG).
  21. News: Popular actor sisters of the artist family . 26 June 2022. 26 June 2022 . IrshadGul). 11 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221011180111/https://irshadgul.com/popular-actor-sisters-of-the-artist-family/. live.
  22. News: Alhamra to hold programme for Nahid Siddiqui . 4 April 2021. 4 April 2021 . The News). 4 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210404022814/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/814531-alhamra-to-hold-programme-for-nahid-siddiqui. live.
  23. News: Katha of the Soul – World renowned Kathak dancer Nahid Siddiqui – program at Aga Khan University . 19 March 2011. 19 March 2011 . IsmailiMail). 26 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126000835/https://ismailimail.blog/2007/03/28/katha-of-the-soul-world-renowned-kathak-dancer-nahid-siddiqui-program-at-aga-khan-university/. live.
  24. News: Nahid Siddiqui . 28 June 2021. 28 June 2021 . NoRegime). 11 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221011180111/https://www.no-regime.com/ru-nl/wiki/Nahid_Siddiqui. live.
  25. News: Lux Style Awards – A Night To Be Remembered! . 22 February 2018 . 22 February 2018 . The Nation) . 11 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221011180109/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Lux+Style+Awards+-+A+night+to+be+remembered%21-a0528437188 . live.
  26. News: Milapfest hosts a successful National Indian Arts Awards third year in a row . 2 November 2017. 2 November 2017 . Asian Voice). 11 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221011180112/https://www.asian-voice.com/News/UK/Milapfest-hosts-a-successful-National-Indian-Arts-Awards-third-year-in-a-row. live.

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