Indu Mitha

Indu Mitha (née Chatterjee) (born 1929) is a Pakistani exponent of Bharatnatyam[1][2][3] and one of only two in the nation (the other being Sheema Kirmani).[4] She is also a faculty member at the Rawalpindi campus of the National College of the Arts.[5]

Personal life

Indu Mitha was born Indu Chatterjee in a Bengali Christian family in 1929. She studied MA philosophy from Delhi University in 1951.[6] Her father, Gyanesh Chandra Chatterji, was a professor of philosophy and president of the Government College in Lahore, which was where Mitha grew up.[7] Her elder sister Uma Anand married famous Bollywood director Chetan Anand.[8] Her family moved to Delhi from Lahore during the Partition of India. In Delhi, she learned Bharatanatyam from Vijay Raghava Rao and Shrimati Lalita.[9] Mitha learnt modern expressional dance from the iconic choreographer and actress Zohra Sehgal.[10] After Independence, Mitha continued her dance training at Sangeet Bharat School and then later from S.V.Lalita.[11]

In 1951, she married Captain Aboobaker Osman Mitha, a Mumbai Memon against the wishes of her family, and moved back to Pakistan with him.[12] Their daughter, Tehreema Mitha is an accomplished Bharatnatyam dancer.[13][14][15]

Career

In the years following her husband's retirement, Mitha began teaching Bharatnatyam in Lahore. Her first position was at the Lahore Grammar school, where she became a celebrated dance teacher. Her students and her were even able to put on a full-on performance at the end of her first teaching sojourn.[4]

Her early performances were at private all-women parties, military functions, and Red Cross charity shows or in front of the All Pakistan Women's Association.[16] She now does one show a year for private audiences, mostly all-women groups, due to the heightened atmosphere linked to the rise of the Taliban.[4]

Mitha ran an academy/school "Mazmoon e Shauq" to teach classical dance where she taught many students like Amna Mawaz Khan.[17][18][19][20][21]

Adaptations

To suit Pakistani cultural norms, Mitha has altered the performance and style of the Bharatnatyam she teaches. She has composed Bharatnatyam songs in Urdu, due to her lack of understanding of Tamil, Telugu or Sanskrit, the three languages Bharatnatyam songs are traditionally composed in.[16]

Awards

Mitha received President’s Award for Pride of Performance Awards (2020–2029) in August, 2020.[22][23][24]

Notes
  • Tikekar, Monisha (2004). Across the Wagah: an Indian's sojourn in Pakistan. New Delhi: Promilla & Co. in association with Bibliophile South Asia.

References
  1. "The Raqs Revival dance extravaganza". The Express Tribune. 9 March 2014.
  2. "From Bharatnatyam to Disco Deewane". The Express Tribune. 9 March 2015.
  3. Aslam, Feriyal Amal (2012). "Choreographing [in] Pakistan: Indu Mitha, Dancing Occluded histories in "The Land of the Pure"". UCLA.
  4. Subramanian, Nirupama (23 June 2009). "Bharatanatyam in the time of the Taliban". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  5. NCA’s ‘Spotlight’ to feature Indu Mitha The News, Pakistan - 3 April 2008
  6. "Indu Mitha's 90th birthday celebration was an evening of storytelling | Art & Culture | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk.
  7. Tikekar 337
  8. Mitha, Indu. "In Memory of my Guru, Zohra Ji- by Indu Mitha. - Tehreema Mitha Dance Company". Tehreema Mitha Dance Company. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  9. Dance is thought and feeling, says Indu Mitha DAWN - 4 April 2008
  10. "New generation lacks stamina for art: Indu Mitha". Zee News. 4 April 2008.
  11. "PechaKucha 20x20". www.pechakucha.com.
  12. Faruqi, Asif Aqeel (2 October 2016). "Caste away: The ongoing struggle of Punjabi Christians". Herald Magazine.
  13. Struggling to dance Archived 2009-05-09 at the Wayback Machine Jang - June 2008
  14. Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (1 March 2020). "Tribute to classical dancer Indu Mitha". DAWN.COM.
  15. Bettmann, Rob. "Tehreema Mitha on "The Scent of My Earth"Bourgeon | Bourgeon".
  16. Veteran dancer wins over Pakistan BBC News - 11 August 2009
  17. "Indu Mitha's students mesmerize audience". DAWN.COM. 26 June 2005.
  18. Yasin, Aamir (12 January 2017). "LIVING COLOURS: 'Future of classical dance, music in Pakistan is very bright'". DAWN.COM.
  19. "Mausikar arranges thrilling performance of dance and music". www.thenews.com.pk.
  20. "Indu Mitha mesmerizes audience at Lok Virsa". PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVES.
  21. "Performing for a cause: Classical dances, music make for a charming evening". The Express Tribune. 28 September 2013.
  22. "DG PNCA Fouzia Saeed greets award recipients". The Nation. 18 August 2020.
  23. Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (15 August 2020). "Posthumous Nishan-i-Imtiaz for Sadequain, Ahmad Faraz". DAWN.COM.
  24. "President confers civil awards to 184 Pakistanis, foreigners for excellence, services". The Nation. 14 August 2020.
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