Uday Shankar (English: Uday Shankar; born- 8 December, 1900, Rajasthan; died- 26 September, 1977, Kolkata) was a famous Indian dancer, choreographer and ballet producer. He is also known as the ‘father of modern dance’ in India. Uday Shankar introduced Europe and America to Indian dance and culture and effectively established Indian dance on the world map.
He created new dances named Tandava Nritya, Shiv-Parvati, Lanka Dahan, Rhythm of Life, Shram aur Yantra, Ramleela and Bhagwan Buddha. Costumes, music, musical instruments, rhythm and beat etc. were invented by him. In 1971, the Government of India awarded him ‘Padma Vibhushan’ and in 1975, Vishwabharati awarded him ‘Deshikottam Samman’.
The famous dancer Uday Shankar was born on 8 December 1900 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He originally belonged to a Bengali family from Narail (modern Bangladesh). His father’s name was Shyam Shankar Choudhary and mother’s name was Hemangini Devi. Uday Shankar’s father was a famous lawyer of his time, who was working with the Maharaja of Jhalawar in Rajasthan. Mother Hemangini Devi belonged to a Bengali landlord family. Uday’s father was given the title of ‘Harchaudhary’ by the Nawabs, but he removed ‘Har’ from ‘Harchaudhary’ and preferred to use only ‘Chaudhary’ with his name. Uday Shankar was the eldest among his brothers. The names of his other brothers were – Rajendra Shankar, Devendra Shankar, Bhupendra Shankar and Ravi Shankar. His brother Bhupendra died in the year 1926 itself.
Uday Shankar’s father was a renowned Sanskrit scholar. He graduated from the University of Calcutta. Later he went to study at the University of Oxford and became a Doctor of Philosophy there. His father had to travel a lot for his work, so the family spent most of their time at Uday Shankar’s maternal uncle’s house in Nasratpur with his mother and brothers. Uday Shankar was also educated at various places, including Nasratpur, Ghazipur, Varanasi and Jhalawar. At his Ghazipur school, Uday Shankar also received excellent education in music and photography from his painting and sculpture teacher Ambika Charan Mukhopadhyay.
Uday Shankar was married to Amala Shankar and had a son, Ananda Shankar, born in 1942 and a daughter, Mamata Shankar, born in 1955. Ananda Shankar was a musician and music composer who trained under Dr. Lalmani Mishra rather than his uncle Ravi Shankar. He was known at the time for his fusion music which incorporated both Western and Indian musical styles. Mamata Shankar, a dancer like her parents, became a noted actress who worked in films of India’s renowned filmmaker-directors Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Mamata Shankar also runs the ‘Udaya Dance Company’ in Kolkata.
In 1918, at the age of just eighteen, Uday Shankar was sent to Mumbai for training at the ‘J.J. School of Art’ and then at ‘Gandharva Mahavidyalaya’. By then his father Shyam Shankar had also resigned from his post in Jhalawar and moved to London. There he married a white woman and became an amateur organizer.[1]He started practising law before becoming a barrister. During this time he introduced Indian music and dance to Britain. Later Uday Shankar joined his father and on 23 August 1920 joined the Royal College of Art in London to study painting under Sir William Rothenstein. It was here that he performed dance at some charity events organised by his father in London. On one such occasion, the famous Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova was also present.
Uday Shankar did not receive any formal training in any form of ‘Indian classical dance’. His performances were creative. Although from an early age he had been exposed to Indian classical and folk dance styles. During his stay in Europe, he was so much influenced by ballet dance that he decided to create a new style of dance by combining the elements of both the styles, which was called ‘High-Dance’. Uday Shankar created new dances named Tandava Nritya, Shiv-Parvati, Lankadahan, Rhythm of Life, Shram aur Yantra, Ramleela and Bhagwan Buddha. In these, costumes, music, musical instruments, rhythm and beat etc. were invented by him. He also created a dance drama on Ramayana. He traveled with his dance troupe to Europe, America etc. countries for years and performed Indian dances.
Uday Shankar gave dance form to the forms and symbols of ‘Indian classical dance’. For this, he studied the styles of Rajput painting and Mughal painting in the British Museum. Apart from this, during his stay in Britain, he came in contact with many dance performing artists. Later he went to Rome for higher level study in art on the ‘Prix de Rome’ scholarship of the French government. Soon Uday Shankar’s contact with such artists increased. Along with this, his idea of giving a contemporary form to Indian dance also got strengthened.
The turning point in his path to success came in the form of a meeting with the famous Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. Anna was looking for artists to collaborate on India-based themes. This led to the creation of ballets on Hindu themes, including a duet with Anna ‘Radha-Krishna’ and ‘Hindu Wedding’ in Anna’s production ‘Oriental Impressions’. The ballet was performed at the Royal Pera House in Covent Garden, London. He himself played Krishna and Pavlova played the role of Radha. Later he continued to compose and choreograph ballets, one of which was based on the frescoes of the Ajanta Caves.
Uday Shankar made a special contribution in spreading ‘Indian classical dance’ and its culture to every corner of the world. It was due to his tireless dedication and devotion towards work that the entire world could become familiar with the culture of India. Uday Shankar was awarded many awards and honours for his incomparable contribution-
Uday Shankar, who brought fame to ‘Indian classical dance’ on the world stage, died on 26 September 1977 in Kolkata.
