Rani Karna

🪔 About

Rani Karnaa, born in 1939 in Hyderabad, Sindh, British India (now Pakistan), was a distinguished Indian classical dancer, primarily known for her mastery of Kathak, though she also achieved proficiency in Odissi. Her family relocated to Delhi in 1942, where she began her dance training at the tender age of four. Karnaa received extensive training in Kathak from eminent gurus, including Nrityacharya Narayan Prasad, Sundar Prasad, and Hiralal of the Jaipur gharana, as well as Pandit Birju Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj of the Lucknow gharana. She developed a unique integrated style that blended the aesthetic components of both Jaipur and Lucknow gharanas. Beyond Kathak, Rani Karnaa also pursued other classical dance forms. She trained in Odissi under the legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra from 1966 to 1985, and also under Hare Krishna Behera. Additionally, she learned Bharatanatyam from Lalita Shastri and Manipuri from Amubi Singh and Narendra Kumar Singh. After marrying into an Odia family in 1963, she moved to Bhubaneswar and later to Kolkata in 1973, which became her primary city of residence and work. Throughout her career, she performed extensively across India and in various international locations, including the UK, Russia, and other European and East Asian countries. She collaborated with aesthetician S.K. Saxena to explore and enrich the theoretical aspects of Kathak. In 1995, Rani Karnaa founded Samskritiki Shreyaskar, a dance academy in Kolkata dedicated to propagating Kathak and developing performing arts. She also served as the first director of the dance department at the Calcutta School of Music from 1978 to 1993 and headed the dance division 'Ahana' at Aurobindo Bhavan, Kolkata, from 1980 to 1987. Rani Karnaa passed away on May 7, 2018, in Kolkata. Awards & Honours: Vice-President's Gold Medal - Shankar's Weekly (1954), Order of the Queen of Laos (1964), Sangeet Varidhi - Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi (1977), Vijay Ratna - Indian International Friendship Society, New Delhi (1990), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1996), Honorary Award - Akhil Bhartiya Sindhi Boli and Sahitya Sabha (1998), Padma Shri (2014), Senior Fellow - Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resources Development - Government of India.