Dr. Shovana Traxl Narayan

Dr. Shovana Narayan is a celebrated Indian Kathak dancer, choreographer, teacher, and cultural figure, widely regarded as one of the foremost exponents of the classical dance form. She began her Kathak training at the age of four, later studying under the legendary maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj, and has since performed extensively on prestigious national and international platforms throughout a career spanning over five decades. She is not only an eminent Kathak exponent but also a distinguished officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). She joined the IAS in the early 1970s. Over the course of her long and respected career in public service, she held several key administrative positions in areas related to finance, culture, social development, and governance. Known for her integrity, intellectual depth, and disciplined approach, she successfully balanced the demanding responsibilities of a senior civil servant with her parallel life as an internationally acclaimed classical dancer. She has been honoured with many of India’s highest artistic recognitions, including the Padma Shri in 1992 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1999–2000, along with numerous national and international awards for her contributions to dance. She holds a Master’s degree in Physics, two MPhil degrees, and an honorary D.Litt, reflecting her scholarly engagement alongside her artistic pursuits. Known for her inventive and socially resonant choreography, Dr. Shovana Narayan has expanded Kathak’s expressive range by addressing philosophical themes and contemporary issues, collaborating with artists across cultural traditions, and nurturing generations of students through her institution, Asavari Centre for Kathak. Her works have enriched the global profile of Kathak and made her a respected guru-performer whose legacy bridges tradition and innovation.

PC: Dr. Shovana Traxl Narayan

The society has been witnessing your extra ordinary choreographies, which are not only exquisite but also thought provoking and socially aligned. What made you courageous to introduce such visualisation at the period when the art community was still conventional in its approach?

I always did what I wanted to do. There’s one thing that my mother said, “Be true to yourself. You can do whatever you want to. You want to pursue two professions at the same time, just do it, but don’t do it half - heartedly. Do it with sincerity and don’t ever compromise on values and ethics, maintain your dignity”. I did everything which was not the dumb thing of the time. I belong from a family wherein my mother was heavily into social work, Sanskrit literature, etc. and I have never seen a closed door in my house. I have grown amidst lots of books, discussions and I felt that for me, the medium of expression is dance and so it got shaped this way. It was first in 1982 I did on environment namely ‘Dashantay’ when nobody was even talking about environment, then in 1983 I presented different take on the word ‘Ram’ and people saw Ram through my choreography ‘Kab Aoge Ram’ to bring that Ramattwa within all and then I was challenised towards Draupadi linking it to environment “Dusashan bas karo, dharti ka chir haran mat karo, phir Dwapar ko dohrane ka duhsahas mat karo”. Similarly colliding Shri Krishna and Kaaliya serpent onto the topic of pollution, which is metaphorical and symbolic. Krishna while dancing on the hood reflected to subdue it and not killing it as the underwater life is important. Then on 1987, I did on human rights on a global scale and then in 1990 I did on female feotiside, ‘Maa Mujhko Bhi Jeene Do’ and so on. And these were the topics the society was concerned about. In 1996 at Kathak Mahotsav I did on incest wearing a black costume. Yes, at that point of time there were murmers but at the same time people also loved it. But criticism only came from the Kathak community but all other dance communities be it Bharatnatyam and others, they all loved it.

Through your choreographies you were contributing in two senses. First, presenting your concept in a contemporary approach apart from the already existing conventional presentation and second, that your spectators got convinced with the diversification of Kathak. What you say on this?

For me Kathak is my language. So even if I lift my hand or finger, it is in the Kathak language. I can’t do it in any other ways. I do not know any other dance language. For me Kathak is my medium of expression and language and I also got a lot of kudos from the critics, public and connoisseurs. Yes, there will always exist a small little group to not like it in my way. That’s completely fine because they have their point of view. In 1990-91 when I start partnering with Ramu Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, he wrote something on dance and acting, we called it ‘Soliloquy in Dance and Acting’, today it is known as Natya Katha. It's just the change in terminology, that’s it! He wrote it for me in English, say it out and I used to dance on it. Fill it with Toda, Tukda and show it with the Nritta and abhinaya. And those were done way back in the early nineties. And yes we did it!

PC: Dr. Shovana Traxl Narayan

You have been a courageous dancer. Inspiration undoubtedly was there, but to showcase such concepts amidst questions and criticism is a big leap. You were very sure that it would be effective for the society. Isn’t it?

Inspiration comes from my feel what I am reading about. Inspiration is what I actually felt it and that’s what I showed it through my dancing what is the society speaking. And I am just the member of the society reacting to it.

How do you see classical dancers in today’s time? Students give more importance to the ‘prayoga’ as dance is 70% practical. But, what about the theoretical aspect, because when productions/projects are done research is an important element.

Contemporization of traditional themes saw it in a different light. But today yes, I think largely there is a though I must say all of you at the Kathak Kendra, the various Directors have tried best to get the students a little more also aware of the theoretical part because we can’t run away from the fact that if I am taking a movement up, it does have a name. If I am showing a flower, means we need to see it in a Natya Sashtra meaning we a talking about ‘Mukul Hasta Mudra’ or ‘Padmakosha’ or ‘Alapadma’, hence the terminologies are used. So, I think that they hesitate largely and even now in large number of them somehow or other are hesitant about it. They say “Theory is not important, we are performing”, which is correct yes you are performing and that performance also has the theory. But if you are aware of it then I think you are only enriched. And it is almost like say, I know how to speak but I don't know how to read and write. So somebody else can always make a fool of you, because you have not read what is being feed to you. So, I think knowledge is always beneficial for your own enhancement and self development and for the opening of the mind. And it is true that finally it is the practical part of it which has to be there and then you understand also that why you are doing it and how it has been visualised and you also understand the fact that the Natya Sashtra never binds you down it is a kind of a codification and giving you guidelines. There are so many different ways of prayogas, even for one expression or one movement or one gesture or one Chali or one Drishti, so you understand that better, but, if you do have in today’s scenario out of this large base of dancers, there are few who would like to understand the context of a character in an abhinaya. It is not that all love. Characters act to the abhinaya brush because the viyog (pain of separation) of Yashoda (the mother of Shri Krishna) is very different from the viyog of Radha and furthermore it is very different from the pain of separation of Lalita Sakhi. Due to subtle differences there expression changes, I think that understanding is to be there. Even if you are doing Ched Chad with the mother, the mother’s reaction is very different from Shri Krishna doing this act with a different angle with Radha and her reaction or somebody’s else, thus those little little subtle acts needs to be understood. Some people try a lot, tries to understand, kudos to them but otherwise you have the larger crowd would like to win the accolades in terms of the technical brilliance.

PC: Dr. Shovana Traxl Narayan

You have been an educated personality in the field of arts plus in your professional position. You authored almost 20+ books which are of great importance.

When you think in trems of ‘Karanas’ what comes to your mind? What is the first thing that comes to your mind? South Indian temple and South Indian dance forms? Postures? The dance that was notated in terms of ‘Karana’ in the Brihadeswara temple was only in 10th century AD. But, you have a lot sculptured dance panels in the northern and central India. Maurya period, Gupta period, Shunga period, Pala period... what happened to those? They were also utilising Karanas. I have done a whole research on it, taken and studied majority of the sculptures of the Indo - Gangetic belt and the Vindhyas. And from Harappan time to the 17th century and Karanas and the practical part and how a Karana with slight difference and how it changes and its application in all dances and how it is danced in the practical part of Kathak.

In today’s time do you see lack of scholarly approach from the youngsters specifically in the Kathak field?

I would say there were very few in all eras. They were very few and same ratio continues. Most of the Kathak dancers were more oriented to this performing and that would be the Nritta technical portion, not the abhinaya portion. Abhinaya portion there they will have to understand the character, its very heavy subject. The Nritta wins them the eyeballs, the claps and the thunderous applause.

If they put in some kind of a genius approach in researching and doing it in abhinaya, then those could be an archival approach for many of the agencies, etc.

They are not interested in that! They’re interested in the stage game. So I also don’t blame them, that is in most of the dance forms, but in the other dance forms in the pedagogy they have created such a thing and in the popular narrative that it becomes part of the pedagogy, in treaching methodology. Here, in Kathak it still needs to be done because it can happen if only the Gurus themselves understand it.