Rani Karnaa

DOB : 1939
Date of death: 17-05-2018
Lived For : 78 Years
Gender : Female

Skills

» Classical Dancer

Written By - Team Nettv4u

Rani Karnaa was a practitioner of Indian classical dance who specialized in the dance form “Kathak”. She was highly regarded within the Kathak community and recognized as one of the finest dancers in India. Rani was born in 1939 in Hyderabad(present-day Pakistan) to a Sindhi family. Her last name “Karnamalani” was passed down in the family for ages. Over some time, it got shortened to Karnaa. In 1942, the Karnaa family moved to Delhi when Rani was only three. She did her schooling in Delhi and continued studying there for higher education. She graduated from Hindu College, Delhi University as a Botany major. Rani eventually gave up on academics and started pursuing dance seriously. At the age of three,

Rani’s fascination with the art form kindled when she first saw her neighbor dancing and set her heart on learning it. With the ignition turned on, it was only a matter of time before Rani began grasping the basics of various classical dance forms like Kathak, Odissi, Bharatnatyam, and Manipuri. Her first teachers were Nrityacharya Narayan Prasad and Sundar Prasad. She mastered the “Jaipur gharana” style under the wings of Guru Hiralal and the revered exponent of the Lucknow gharana- Pandit Birju Maharaj. After getting married into an Odia family in 1963, Rani was bestowed upon the opportunity to meet Kumkum Mohanty, a famous Oddisi dancer. Through her unexpected connection, she reached out to the renowned guru, Kelucharan Mahapatra, and learned Oddisi under him.

She trained under many other famous gurus, like Amubi Singh, Narendra Kumar Narendra Kumar is an elite designer of the fashion >> Read More... & Lalita Shastri, a disciple of the renowned Rukmini Devi Arundale. Rani Karnaa performed relentlessly throughout the years in India and abroad, performing at almost all major classical dance festivals in India. Her performances were commended even in countries like UK, Russia, etc. Besides being a phenomenal performer, Rani took many initiatives to preserve the classical form of dance for it to be passed on to the generations ahead. She was the founder and first director of the Calcutta School of Music and worked there from 1978 till 1993. Rani has received many accolades, including the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, which was awarded to her to recognize and celebrate her work and achievements in the field of dance. She passed away on 17 May 2018.