Pt. Rajendra Gangani

New Delhi, India

The disciple and son of of Pt. Kundanlal Gangani, Rajendra Gangani started training in the art of Kathak dance at the early age of four. The renowned Jaipur ‘Gharana’ saw the emergence of an outstanding performer and crusader of the art in the talented scion of a family of hereditary dancers serving the art of Kathak for centuries together. Pt. Rajendra has easily absorbed the most complicated and difficult ‘Bols’ of Kathak, today, mesmerising audiences under the spell of his art for hours together. He has enriched himself with the essence of this style of dance together with integrating the purity of tradition with the creativeness of a contemporary approach. Pt. Rajendra graduated from the Kathak Kendra, Delhi in the year 1983-84, and ever since has made significant contributions to this field. Although he sticks to the pure tradition of his gharana, he is an indefatigable experimenter, having choreographed several group compositions and dance dramas to standing ovations and rave reviews. Pt. Rajendra stands out for his style; making use of his excellent blend of manly grace and delicacy, he depicts the devotional aspects that characterises the Jaipur gharana. His dance forms depict the love of Radha Krishna, different Lilaas of Lord Vishnu. A large number of thematic items like Leele-Varnan, Raag Vistaar, Tribandhi, Sargam, Zhalak, Srijan, Kavitakriti, Maharaas, Parikrama has been produced by him. An accomplished musician, composer of tunes, he also has a rare mastery over the tabla, harmonium, pakhawaj, etc. With a confident grasp of the kinetics and aesthetics of dance, and his ability to select apt songs, his choreographic creations always bring an air of refreshing novelty. Guruji, as he is fondly called by all his students and associates has created items that are beautiful blends of artistic excellence, meaningful poetry, soulful music and expressive dancing…a careful amalgam of all the four elements of Abhinaya. Among the numerous awards and accolades he has won, are the ‘Sangeet Raj’, ‘Shastriya Natya Shiromani’, and the prestigious ‘Sangeet Natya Akademy Award’ which was bestowed upon him in 2003 by The President of India, Honorable Shri A P J Abdul Kalam.