21 Facts About Rani Karnaa

Rani Karnaa was an Indian classical dancer, known for her proficiency in the Indian dance form of Kathak, and regarded by many as one of the greatest exponents of the art form.

Rani Karnaa was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on her the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of dance.

Rani Karnaa was born in 1939, in a sindhi family of amirs in Hyderabad, in the present day Pakistan and erstwhile British India.

In 1942, her family moved to Delhi when the young Rani Karnaa was three years old.

Rani Karnaa had her early schooling in Delhi and graduated in Botany from the Hindu College, Delhi.

Rani Karnaa did Honours degree in Botany later but forsook academics to concentrate on her dance career.

Rani Karnaa's family moved from Sindh to Delhi when she was three and settled at Connaught Place.

Rani Karnaa soon grew a fancy for dance seeing a neighbor dancing, insisted on learning the art and started learning dance from the age of four, learning Kathak, Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Manipuri.

Rani Karnaa continued her studies to master the Jaipur gharana style under Guru Hiralal and the Lucknow gharana ethos from Pandit Birju Maharaj.

Rani Karnaa shifted her residence to Bhubaneshwar when she got married into an Odia family in 1963 and this gave her an opportunity to meet Kumkum Mohanty, the famous Odissi dancer.

Rani Karnaa performed extensively across India and outside, performing at almost all the major classical dance festivals in India.

Rani Karnaa's performances are said to have received acclaim in places like UK, Russia and many other European countries.

Rani Karnaa lived in Kolkata, since shifting from Bhubaneshwar when her husband, Nayak, was transferred to Kolkata in 1978, attending to her duties as the director of Samskritiki Shreyaskar and was active until recently, her last public performance was in 2013, at the age of 74.

Apart from contributing to the propagation of Kathak through her performances, Rani Karnaa is credited with integrating the traditions of Jaipur and Lucknow gharanas.

Rani Karnaa is said to have combined artistry with creative expression.

Rani Karnaa has done research on the aesthetics of Kathak with Professor S K Saxena of Delhi University and the body of that research work is well recognized.

Rani Karnaa established a dance academy, Samskritiki Shreyaskar, 1995, and guides the Sangeet and Nritya Sikshan Bharati, a division of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kolkata.

Rani Karnaa is the founder and the first director of Calcutta School of Music and worked there from 1978 till 1993.

Rani Karnaa established the dance division of Aurobindo Bhavan, Kolkata, by name, Ahana and headed the department from 1980 to 1987.

Rani Karnaa was honoured by the Government of India by awarding her the Padma Shri, in 2014, in recognition of her efforts to the cause of Kathak dance.

Rani Karnaa has received many other awards and honours such as:.