Bihar at 04:22, 12 January 2026

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{{Short description|Indian dancer and choreographer (1930–2025)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kumudini Lakhia
| image = [[File:Kumudini Lakhia (cropped).jpg|200px]]
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|5|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[British Raj|India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|4|12|1930|5|17|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Ahmedabad]], [[Gujarat]], India
| known_for = [[Kathak dance]] and [[choreography]]
| awards = [[Padma Vibhushan]]
| occupation = Founder-Director, Kadamb School of Dance and Music
}}

'''Kumudini Lakhia''' (17 May 1930 – 12 April 2025) was an Indian [[Kathak]] dancer and choreographer based in [[Ahmedabad, Gujarat]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Swaminathan |first1=Chitra |title=Kumudini Lakhia: The lovable diva of choreography |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/kumudini-lakhia-the-lovable-diva-of-choreography/article31639485.ece |work=The Hindu |date=21 May 2020 |language=en-IN}}</ref> where she founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967.<ref>{{cite news|title=A dancers opinion|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad-events/Dancing-your-way-to-health/articleshow/14861355.cms|work=[[The Times of India]]|agency=TNN|access-date=6 October 2018|date=17 July 2002|author=Pathak, Rujul}}</ref>

A pioneer in contemporary Kathak dance, she was credited with moving away from the solo form of [[Kathak]] starting in the 1960s, by turning it into a group spectacle, and also innovations like taking away traditional stories and adding contemporary storylines into Kathak repertoire.<ref>{{cite news|title=When Many Feet Make Loud Work|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/arts/dance/24howa.html?ref=dance|author=Rachel Howard|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=24 September 2006|access-date=6 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Dance of the masters|url=https://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/11/21/stories/2004112100460500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050531215119/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/11/21/stories/2004112100460500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 May 2005|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=21 November 2004|location=Chennai, India|access-date=6 October 2018}}</ref><ref name=vo/>

==Early life and education==
Lakhia started her Kathak training with Sohanlal from the Bikaner Gharana at age seven. This was followed by Ashiq Hussain of Benaras Gharana and Sunder Prasad of the Jaipur school. Encouraged by her mother, Leela, herself a classical singer, she was sent to further her training under the tutelage of Radheylal Misra, himself a disciple of Jai Lal. As a result, she completed her schooling in Lahore and college in Allahabad.<ref>[https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/profile/story/20160118-kumudini-lakhia-dancer-kathak-institute-828278-2016-01-06 Profile: A whole new whirl] Suhani Singh, India Today, January 6, 2016. </ref>

==Career==
Lakhia started her career dancing with [[Ram Gopal (dancer)|Ram Gopal]] as he toured the West, bringing Indian dance to the eyes of people abroad for the first time, and then became a dancer and choreographer in her own right. She learned first from various gurus of Jaipur ''[[gharana]]'', and then from [[Shambhu Maharaj]].

She was particularly known for her multi-person choreographies. Some of her most famous choreographies include ''Dhabkar'' (Pulse), ''Yugal'' (The Duet), and ''Atah Kim'' (Where Now?), which she performed at the annual Kathak Mahotsav in Delhi in 1980. She was also a choreographer in the [[Hindi film]], ''[[Umrao Jaan (1981 film)|Umrao Jaan]]'' (1981), along with [[Gopi Krishna (dancer)|Gopi Krishna]].<ref>{{IMDb name|1252082}}</ref><ref name=bo>{{cite web|title=Bollywood's new dancing queen|access-date=6 October 2018|url=http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/02merchant.htm|date=2 August 2006|publisher=[[Rediff]] Movies}}</ref>

Lakhia was a guru to many disciples, including [[Kathak]] dancers [[Aditi Mangaldas]], Vaishali Trivedi, Sandhya Desai, Daksha Sheth, Maulik Shah, Ishira Parikh, Prashant Shah, Urja Thakore and Parul Shah amongst others.

==Personal life and death==
Kumudini Lakhia married Rajnikant Lakhia, who was studying law at the Lincolns Inn and was a violinist with the Ram Gopal company before moving to Ahmedabad in 1960. She had a son, Shriraj, and a daughter, Maitreyi.

Lakhia died in Ahmedabad on 12 April 2025, at the age of 94.<ref>[https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/renowned-kathak-dancer-kumudini-lakhia-passes-away-9940283/ Renowned Kathak dancer Kumudini Lakhia passes away]</ref>

==Choreographies==
*"Variation in Thumri" (1969)
*"Venu Nad" (1970)
*"Bhajan" (1985)
*"Hori" (1970)
*"Kolaahal" (1971)
*"Duvidha" (1971)
*"Dhabkar" (1973)
*"Yugal" (1976)
*"Umrao Jaan" (1981)
*"Atah Kim" (1982)
*"Okha Haran" (1990)
*"Hun-Nari" (1993)
*"Golden Chains" (for Neena Gupt, London)
*"Sam Samvedan" (1993)
*"Samanvay" (2003)
*"Bhav Krida" (1999)
*"Feathered Cloth – Hagoromo" (2006)
*"Mushti" (2005)<ref name=vo>{{cite news|title=New vocabulary for Kathak|author=Leela Venkatraman|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/New-vocabulary-for-Kathak/article15401691.ece|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=25 May 2008|location=Chennai, India|access-date=6 October 2018}}</ref>

==Awards and honours==
*[[Padma Shri]] by the [[Government of India]] in 1987
*[[Padma Bhushan]] in 2010
*[[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] by [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]] in 1982
*[[Kalidas Samman]] for the year 2002-03
*[[Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna]] by [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]] in 2011
*Guru Gopinath Desiya Natya Puraskaram (2021) by [[Government of Kerala]]<ref name="The Hindu 2022">{{cite news |title=Guru Gopinath award for Kumidini Lakhia|newspaper=The Hindu|date=9 June 2022|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/guru-gopinath-award-for-kumidini-lakhia/article65511689.ece|access-date=7 July 2022}}</ref>
* [[Padma Vibhushan]] for year 2025 for her contribution in the field of Art<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.padmaawards.gov.in/Document/pdf/notifications/PadmaAwards/2025.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126163202/https://www.padmaawards.gov.in/Document/pdf/notifications/PadmaAwards/2025.pdf |archive-date=26 January 2025 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.padmaawards.gov.in |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Movement in Stills: The Dance And Life of Kumudini Lakhia'' ({{ISBN|81-88204-42-0}}) by Reena Shah
* [http://www.narthaki.com/info/articles/article52.html Choreography in the Indian Context by Kumudini Lakhia, (Keynote address Feb 2002)]

==External links==
* [http://www.kadamb.net Kadamb website]
* {{IMDb name| 1252082}}
* [http://www.narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrv115i.html Kumudini Lakhia Interview] at nartaki.com
* {{Gujarati Vishwakosh}}

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19}}
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakhia, Kumudini}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2025 deaths]]
[[Category:Kathak dancers]]
[[Category:Indian classical choreographers]]
[[Category:Artists from Ahmedabad]]
[[Category:Teachers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Indian women choreographers]]
[[Category:Women educators from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Educators from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Indian dance teachers]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:Dancers from Gujarat]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Women musicians from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts]]

Kumudini Lakhia - Revision history

Bihar at 04:22, 12 January 2026