MUMBAI: India's dance fraternity is mourning the demise of Kathak legend Roshan Kumari who passed away in Mumbai Oct 5. The 82-year-old stalwart of the Jaipur gharana passed away of age-related ailments at Holy Family Hospital in Bandra.




Born in Ambala, Haryana, Roshan Kumari was the daughter of famous percussionist Fakir Mohammed, who excelled in pakhawaj and tabla ('Koi saaghar dil ko behlata nahin'). Her mother was noted singer Zohrabai Ambalewali ('Akhiyan milake jiya bharmake' from the pre-Independence film 'Rattan').




She perfected her keen expression and fluid moves under the tutelage of gurus KS Moray, Sunder Prasad, Ghulam Hussain Khan and Hanuman Prasad, and even learnt Bharatanatyam from Govindraj Pillai and Mahalingam Pillai. Her grace seemed to amalgamate art and mathematics.




Roshan Kumari ran a dance school named Nritya Kala Kendra in Bandra whose pupils including Aditi Bhagwat, Nandita Puri Dhanoa and Mukta Joshi are carrying her legacy forward.




Her dance skills won her several roles in films, her most famous performance being in Satyajit Ray 's Jalsaghar. Audiences were mesmerised by her grace in Bimal Roy's Parineeta, Mirza Ghalib by Sohrab Modi and in Basant Bahar.




Roshan Kumari choreographed films like Gopi, Lekin, Chaitali and Sardari Begum. A govt documentary on Kathak features her as a prominent achiever.




Noted dancer Nandita Puri Dhanoa lived with her for eight years since 1979. She recalled, "GuruMa's unique trait was that she wore large ghunghroos weighing 1.5 kg on each foot! Few performers can carry such heavy weight while dancing. We, her students, do the same. She was a strict disciplinarian yet so caring. Till last year she would instruct me to maintain perfect posture at the exact angle. Even when I met her in hospital, she first asked me if I was doing my riyaz."




Another senior disciple of 35 years Mukta Joshi said, "GuruMa was a perfectionist and did rigorous riyaz. She hung many pictures of her parents in her house. She described her home as a 'mandir' dedicated to her parents."




Her pupils have organised a condolence meeting at her Kashi Kunj residence in Waterfield Road, Bandra, from 4.00-6.00 pm Saturday Oct 10.




Roshan Kumari was the recipient of the Nritya Shiromani Award, Sangeeta Natak Akademi Award as well as Padma Shri . The govt of Bengal conferred the Vishwa Unnyyan Samsad in 1989 and she received the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar from the Maharashtra govt the following year in 1990.




The Man Patra honour from Kathak Kendra, Jaipur, came in 1993.