How Kumudini Lakhia danced her way to the stars

India Today

24-04-2025

Kumudini Lakhia (ne Jayakar) was born on May 17, 1930, when the world was literally at war. As a colony of the British, there was little concern for India's cultural symbols. Western dictionaries spell their dance forms like Flamenco and Salsa with the upper case but use the lower case for Indian forms such as Kathak and Bharatanatyam. If that's not cultural imperialism or racism in the arts, then what is? Kumudini was to change one of the fundamental tenets of Kathak, the only classical dance form that prevailed across north, central and western India. South India had many classical forms—Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam and Kathakali—but the rest of India then had not accepted Odissi, Manipuri or Sattriya, which remained confined to the regional or even the local.Kathak was then the only pan-Indian form, almost. She grew up to be one of its best exponents, taking tutelage from such active sources as gurus Sohanlal, Shambhu, Birju Maharaj, Sundar Prasad, Radhe Lal and Ashiq Hussain Khan, the handsomest of all. She learnt from many—in fact, all—major gharanas (schools) then, and eventually made her own gharana: the Gujarat model.advertisementMarriage brought her to Ahmedabad, a booming industrial town by the little Karnavati river. It was a textiles town, where new institutions were coming up in design, management, milk-farming, even dance—Mrinalini Sarabhai founded Darpana in 1949 when she married Vikram Sarabhai, the scientist, and Kumudini followed her with Kadamb when she married Rajnibhai. The couple had first met in the Ram Gopal group, of which she was a star member. Ram went on world tours, finding and mentoring new talents each time, including Mrinalini, Saroja, Kumudini and, in later years, Leelavati (Swedish), Amla (French) and Tara (Pakistani). Ram was following the model of Uday Shankar, who found and groomed new partners like Simkie, Zohra and Amala.Kumudini succeeded in groups and duets with Birju Maharaj, but never much as a soloist. Like Chandralekha, an average Bharatanatyam dancer, Kumudini, too, didn't go national as a soloist, but both gained attention and acclaim due to their group choreographic work—by breaking from the mould of what they had learnt and creating anew from the same form, albeit in group works. Earlier group works were mostly dance dramas about mythology or historical figures. The 1984 East-West Dance Encounter in Bombay, hosted by the Max Muller Bhawan under Georg Lechchner—its first director and Sonal Mansingh's second husband, the first being an Odia foreign service talent Lalit Mansingh—birthed for these two middle-aged or post-their-prime dancers a new lease of life. Then there was no looking back because—typical of India and we Indians—once the West gave a stamp of approval, then one was a success at home, too! This was also an outcome of the subservient colonial mindset.advertisement
Kumudini helped put a sanitised Kathak, shorn of its excessive village-fair mannerisms, chatter and natter, on the world stage. She arrived internationally, too, as by the 1990s the economy was booming with the end of the protectionist trade policy of the past, and India was on the global stage thanks to the Festivals of India in many countries such as the UK, the USSR, the USA, France, Sweden, Germany, China and Japan. Kumudini went to many places as her PR, too, was excellent like her work—she could control her sharp tongue and temper when necessary. A pet of the establishment, she was on many government committees and won every award in the book till date, regardless of the party in power. One of her students penned a book on her 20 years ago, but it made no real impact as there was no historical perspective to contextualise her seminal work: the break from old Kathak by streamlining presentation and delivering clean, wholesome art.Kumudini had a questioning mind and trained more such in Aditi Mangaldas and Daksha Sheth, who were like her two hands—the right and the left. Other star students followed but these two can be called next only to Kumiben in outreach, originality and creativity. Daksha is miles ahead because no two works of her are the same—a hallmark of genius. Aditi has stuck to Kathak and, saying her base is Kathak, even refused a Sahitya Natak Akademi award that was given for contemporary works. 'Kumiben gave us a language and the courage that has given us life,' she avers.advertisementKadamb bloomed with many flowers—names that made a mark like Maulik-Ishira, Prashant, Sanjukta Sinha and now Rupanshi Thakkar. A true leader delegates and lets it be. Kumiben freed Kathak of court culture, the politics of gharanas and #MeToo moments. Girls were safe with her. She gave the old dance form a new look of pastels and purity of lines, making it shine. At 95, if she has gone dancing up there, she must be conducting more classes and telling all devtas and devis to shape up.Subscribe to India Today Magazine