E-Paper
Dancing her way through life & grooming others too
Demonstrating elegance through the intricate dance gestures sets her apart from others. Perfect coordination of her footsteps with the rhythmic tabla beat speak volumes about the undiverted attention she gave to Kathak, a popular dance form of North India.
Demonstrating elegance through the intricate dance gestures sets her apart from others. Perfect coordination of her footsteps with the rhythmic tabla beat speak volumes about the undiverted attention she gave to Kathak, a popular dance form of North India.
At present Urmila Sharma is much content after realising her dreams in the form of Kathak Kendra.
She is the director of the Kendra which was inaugurated recently by Padmavibhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj.
"Until eight years' age, I had no liking for kathak. But a visit to a cultural event organised by Prayag Sangeet Samiti way back in 1971 changed my life altogether. Dazzling dance performance by an artiste motivated me to learn kathak," said Urmila.
Things were not simple for her. She faced restraints from her parents for being belonging to a conservative Brahmin family of Chandausi. It was her biggest 'drawback'. "But they gave in when they realised the urge with which I had decided to pursue this art form. And the biggest opportunity fell on my lap when I was kept under the able guidance of my first guru Pandit Ram Babu Bhatt. It was in the year 1972 when I gave my first stage performance and won tremendous applause from the audience," she said.
After her selection for Kathak Kendra, Delhi, in 1980, Urmila got the opportunity to have Pandit Birju Maharaj as her guru. She also received scholarship and those two years as a disciple of Maharaj helped her imbibe the actual details.
Urmila's style defines the characteristics of Jaipur Gharana as well as sophisticated abhinay and bhava peculiar to Lucknow Gharana and khula naach of Banaras Gharana.
She is the degree holder of Sangeet Praveen in dance and Prabhakar in tabla.
Besides being bestowed with several prestigious awards, she has been categorised as the top grade Kathak artiste by Doordarshan. "I have been dance director at NCZCC, HoD dance at Prayag Sangeet Samiti and teacher-cum-performer at Indian Cultural Centre, Paramaribo, Surinam," she said.
Performing as the director of Kathak Kendra, Allahabad, Urmila Sharma is busy teaching the dancing skills to the budding talents of the city. Almost 150 students are learning under her tutelage at present. She is well supported by her better half Harinarayan Mishra who is an advocate and also attached to a political party. "Kendra is a dream come true as I always longed to have a place of my own to teach Kathak," she said beamingly.
"I am also planning to develop Sati Chaura in Handia into a venue which could be utilised as a platform of holding various cultural events. Besides, Kathak Kendra has also been recognised by ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) to receive foreign students from the countries across the globe. This has also increased my responsibilities," she added.
"It is my request to parents to support their children in pursuing this art with dedication and sincerity. Then only could they expect some positive results," said Sharma.
