The Kumaon region of Uttarakhand has always fascinated great scholars, thinkers, poets and artistes. Some famous names that come to mind in this context are Mahatma Gandhi, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Mahadevi Verma and Uday Shankar .
September 26 is the 40th death anniversary of “Nritya Samrat” Uday Shankar, the pioneer of modern dance in India and a world renowned dancer and choreographer. He had a deep admiration for the hills of Kumaon and set up his “dream cultural centre” in Simtola near Almora in 1938. It was called “Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre.” His legacy is still cherished in Uttarakhand, especially in Kumaon where his concept of dance left an indelible mark on various aspects of the cultural fabric of the region. The maestro invented, during his stay in Almora, the fusion of the famous ballet-based Kumaoni Ramlila and the classical style of dance. Uday Shankar used the essence of various traditions and techniques in his dance dramas and succeeded in presenting an integrated composition. He made a grand contribution to the Kumaoni Ramlila.
The Government of India awarded Uday Shankar with the coveted Padma Vibhushan. Besides a fine classical dancer, Uday Shankar was also a brilliant painter. He went to the JJ School of the Arts in Bombay. In 1920, Uday Shankar also went to England to study painting at the Royal College of Art, london. There, he choreographed two ballads-one based on the stories of Radha and Krishna and the other “A Hindu Wedding”.
In 1929, Uday Shankar returned to India to form a dance troupe of his own. Uday Shankar made only one film but it was highly acclaimed. Kalpana, his film, was chosen for screening at the Cannes Classics 2012 programme in May .The movie made in 1948 was digitally restored by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation. Kalpana traces the story of a young artist’s dream to establish a dance academy. The movie has Shankar and his wife, Amala, playing as lead.
Significantly, Kalpana is the film where Guru Dutt first worked as an assistant director. He typed the script. The entire film was written at Uday Shankar’s cultural centre in Almora, which became the hub of future artistes of India. It was produced and shot at Gemini Studios.
Uday Shankar was the eldest son of noted barrister Syam Shankar. He was the eldest of the four siblings. His youngest brother, Rabindra was the renowned sitar maestro famous all over the world as “Pandit Ravi Shankar”. Ravi Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent his youth touring Europe and India with the dance group of his brother Uday Shankar. He gave dance performances.
Uday Shankar’s dance was inspired by various arts, including painting, theatre, sculpture and poetry. Not many people are aware that among the students who were part of his centre were famous actress Zohra Sehgal, Uday Shankar’s wife Amala, legendary actor and director Guru Dutt and singer lakshmi Shankar.
His dances were, however, rooted in Hindu mythology. He had a wonderful gift of taking the essence from various dance traditions and techniques and using them to choreograph his dance - dramas.
After Uday Shankar’s death on September 26, 1977, Amala Shankar took the charge of the school in Kolkata. The school continues to teach an all-embracing performance curriculum that includes training in folk and classical dance, improvisation and costume design.
The State Government has set up an Uday Shankar Academy in Falsima near Almora.