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{{Short description|Indian dancer (1928–2004)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox dancer
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1928|09|05}}
| image = Damayanti_Joshi_dancer.jpg
| caption = dancing
| birth_place =[[Mumbai]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2004|09|19|1928|09|05}}
| death_place =[[Mumbai]], India
| occupation =dancer, choreographer, dance instructor
| dances = [[Kathak]]
}}

'''Damayanti Joshi''' (5 September 1928 – 19 September 2004)<ref name="sa">{{cite web|url=http://www.learnkathak.com/kathakfaq.htm |title=Kathak FAQ: Short notes on the popular Kathak dancers |publisher=Nupur Nritya – Sangeet Academy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414024300/http://www.learnkathak.com/kathakfaq.htm |archive-date=14 April 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> was a noted renowned exponent of the [[Kathak]] dance form.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Damayanti Joshi {{!}} Films Division|url=https://filmsdivision.org/shop/damayanti-joshi|access-date=2021-10-07|website=filmsdivision.org|archive-date=7 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007194242/https://filmsdivision.org/shop/damayanti-joshi|url-status=dead}}</ref> She believed Kathak is the art of storytelling.<ref name=":0" /> She began in the 1930s dancing in Madame Menaka's troupe, which travelled to many parts of the world. She learnt Kathak from Sitaram Prasad of [[Jaipur Gharana]] and became an adept dancer at a very young age, and later trained under from Acchan Maharaj, [[Lacchu Maharaj]] and [[Shambhu Maharaj]] of [[Lucknow gharana]], thus imbibing nuances from both the traditions. She became independent in the 1950s and achieved prominence in the 1960s, before turning into a guru at her dance school in [[Mumbai]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kothari|first=Sunil |author-link=Sunil Kothari|title=Kathak, Indian classical dance art|year=1989|publisher=Abhinav Publications|page=188}}</ref><ref>Massey, p. 64</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Banerji|first=Projesh |title=Kathak dance through ages|year=1983|publisher=Humanities Press|page=45}}</ref>

She received the [[Padma Shri]] in 1970, the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] for Dance in 1968, and had remained Director of the U.P. Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.<ref name="hti"/>

==Early life and training==
Born in a [[Hindu]] family in Mumbai in 1928,<ref>{{cite book|last=Menon|first=Rekha |title=Cultural profiles, (Volume 2)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkbRAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Damayanti+Joshi%22+-inpublisher:icon|year=1961|publisher=Inter-National Cultural Centre|page=17}}</ref> she grew up in the household of General Dr Sahib Singh Sokhey and his wife Leila Sokhey (born Roy) who became known as [[Madame Menaka]].<ref name=culture>[http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5159 Giants Who Reawakened Indian Dance], Kusam Joshi, 2011, Hinduism Today, Retrieved 5 September 2016</ref> Manaka had lost her own child and she had decided to adopt Joshi. Joshi's mother Vatsala Joshi would not give up her daughter and they agreed to be joint guardians.<ref name="hta"/> Initially performed in temples.<ref name=":0" />In Manaka's troupe she learnt about [[Kathak]] from Pandit Sitaram Prasad as she toured in Menaka's troupe. After ten years, when she was 15 she had performed in European major cities. The Sokheys employed Damayanti's mother and Joshi received an education.<ref name="hti">{{cite news|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2005/09/18/stories/2005091800360500.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121111044414/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2005/09/18/stories/2005091800360500.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=11 November 2012|title=TRIBUTE: A life of intricate rhythms|date=18 September 2005|work=The Hindu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Lakshmi|first=C. S. |author2=Roshan G. Shahani|title=Damayanti, Menaka's daughter: a biographical note based on the Visual History Workshop, February 15, 1998 Issue 8 of Publication (SPARROW)|year=1998|publisher=SPARROW|page=11}}</ref><ref name="hta">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/lr/2004/11/07/stories/2004110700280400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050325212935/http://www.hindu.com/lr/2004/11/07/stories/2004110700280400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 March 2005|title=A life dedicated to dance|last=Lakshmi|first=C.S.|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=7 November 2004}}</ref> Among her contemporaries at Madame Menaka's was [[Shirin Vajifdar]], a pioneering classical dancer from the [[Parsi]] community.<ref name=wire1>{{cite news|newspaper=The Wire|url=https://thewire.in/183843/remembering-shirin-vajifdar-dancer/|title=Remembering Shirin Vajifdar – Pioneer in All Schools of Dance|last=Kothari|first=Sunil|date=3 October 2017|access-date=4 October 2017}}</ref>

She was the first student at Mumbai's Sri Rajarajeswari Bharata Natya Kala Mandir, where she learned [[Bharat Natyam]] from Guru T. K. Mahalingam Pillai, doyen among [[nattuvanar]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/01/03/stories/2003010301520800.htm|title=Life dedicated to dance|date=3 January 2003|work=The Hindu|access-date=13 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202113401/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/01/03/stories/2003010301520800.htm|archive-date=2 December 2008|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

==Career==
After the mid-1950s, Damayanti established herself as a successful solo [[Kathak]] dancer, taking training from [[Pandit]]s, Achhan Maharaj, [[Lachhu Maharaj]] and [[Shambhu Maharaj]] of the [[Lucknow]] gharana and [[Guru]] Hiralal of the [[Jaipur]] gharana. Particularly, at [[Kathak Kendra]], Delhi, she trained under Shambhu Maharaj.<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Reginald |title=India's kathak dance, past present, future|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yFXkPk3zMeYC&q=%22Damayanti+Joshi%22+-inpublisher%3Aicon&pg=RA1-PA29|year=1999|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=81-7017-374-4|page=29}}</ref> She was the first person to introduce "[[Saree]]" as a costume in Kathak dance.

She also taught Kathak at Indira Kala Vishvaidyalaya, Khairagarh, and Kathak Kendra in Lucknow. She has been honoured with the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] (1968) and the [[Padma Shri]] (1970).<ref>{{cite web|title=Padma Awards |publisher=[[Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India)|Ministry of Communications and Information Technology]] |url=http://india.gov.in/myindia/padma_awards.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710123059/http://india.gov.in/myindia/padma_awards.php |archive-date=10 July 2011 }}</ref> She was also the guru to Bireshwar Gautam.

She has been featured in the documentary on Kathak in 1971 by Films Division, Government of India, and another film entitled "Damayanti Joshi" directed by Hukumat Sarin was made in 1973.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}

Damayanti Joshi died in Mumbai at her home on Sunday, September 19, 2004. She had been ailing and was bed-ridden for almost one year after she suffered a stroke attack.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Obit / Profile - Damayanti Joshi passes away|url=https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/profil45.html|access-date=2021-10-07|website=narthaki.com}}</ref>

==Works==
* ''Madame Menaka'', by Damayanti Joshi. Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1989.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}
* ''Rediscovering India, Indian philosophy library: Kathak dance through ages, by Projesh Banerji, Damayanti Joshi''. Cosmo publications, 1990.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

==See also==
*[[List of Kathak dancers]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joshi, Damayanti}}
[[Category:Kathak dancers]]
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Teachers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:Women educators from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Indian dance teachers]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:Dancers from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Women artists from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Educators from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women educators]]

Damayanti Joshi - Revision history

ChaseBruns at 18:19, 5 May 2026