Legendary dancer Mansingh to receive Sankardeva award
Bharatanatyam
and
Odissi
, and a Padma Vibhushan awardee,
Sonal Mansingh
, will be conferred with the prestigious Srimanta Sankardeva Award for 2023 on Friday.
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Last year, on August 21, the state cabinet had decided to honour the legendary dancer with the award. President Droupadi Murmu will present the award in Guwahati.
Speaking to TOI over phone, Mansingh said she experienced a mixed reaction, when her name was announced a few months ago. "It was absolutely wonderful as well as shock and happiness. It was everything put together and then it took this long to get a convenient gift from the President.
But finally, when the date is announced, I'll be in Guwahati to receive this. Once again, I am in a great state of happiness and great gratitude," she said, while expressing her gratitude to Maa Kamakhya and CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Reminiscing about her journey since the age of seven, Mansingh said her dance took her to 90 countries across the globe. "People have heard about musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar and others taking music all over the globe.
But nobody spoke about dance. After my dance took me to a global audience, I saw that it was also a binding force. I have personally experienced how dance can bring people together; give them bliss, a sense of happiness and inner peace. And that's where there is no religion, language, caste or creed. Nothing matters. So my journey continues," Mansingh said.
Terming her dance, at an altitude of 21,778 feet, in front of the southern side of Mt.
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Kailash at the age of 62 a 'divine experience', Mansingh said she was put under training since the age of four by her parents, before she started learning Bharatanatyam at the age of seven.
Talking about the 'Sattriya' dance of Assam, Mansingh said it was in 2000, when she was asked by music maestro Bhupen Hazarika, who was then the chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, to visit Assam. "After my visit, I said Sattriya can be done, but the dance form will have to expand more.
So, I am very proud that I could contribute to
Sattriya dance
," she said.
While Mansingh was the govt nominee at the Akademi, Sattriya dance got the classical status in 2000.
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