Rani Karnaa

🪔 About

Rani Karnaa was a renowned Indian classical dancer, celebrated for her profound proficiency in Kathak, and widely regarded as one of its greatest exponents. Born in 1939 in Hyderabad, Sindh, British India (now Pakistan), her family relocated to Delhi when she was three years old in 1942. Karnaa began her dance training at the tender age of four, initially exploring Kathak, Odissi, Bharatanatyam, and Manipuri. Her foundational Kathak training was under Nrityacharya Narayan Prasad and Sundar Prasad. She further honed her skills in the Jaipur gharana style under Guru Hiralal and mastered the Lucknow gharana ethos from Pandit Birju Maharaj and Pandit Shambhu Maharaj between 1950 and 1964. Beyond Kathak, she also received training in Odissi from Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Hare Krishna Behera (from 1966 to 1985), Bharatanatyam from Lalita Shastri, and Manipuri from Guru Amubi Singh and Narendra Kumar Singh. Karnaa developed a unique style that beautifully synthesized the Jaipur and Lucknow gharanas, enriching Kathak's repertoire by integrating literature, music, and dance. She collaborated with Professor S. K. Saxena of Delhi University on the aesthetics of Kathak, a body of research that is well-recognized. Her extensive performance career saw her grace major classical dance festivals across India and receive acclaim in the UK, Russia, and other European countries. In 1963, she married and moved to Bhubaneswar, later settling in Kolkata in 1973/1978, which became her home for the rest of her life. In Kolkata, she made significant contributions to dance education. She was the founder and first director of the dance department at the Calcutta School of Music (1978-1993) and established the dance division of Aurobindo Bhavan, Kolkata, named Ahana (1980-1987). In 1995, Rani Karnaa founded her own dance academy, Samskritiki Shreyaskar, with the aim of propagating Kathak and developing performing arts. She continued to teach and guide students until her passing on May 7, 2018, at the age of 78-79 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.