Rupa Bharati celebrated 60 years of the dance life of Nrityashree Keka Chattopadhyay and their 46th Annual Cultural Event.
RAJKUMAR DAS
With the aim of honing the dancing skills of the Nrityashree Keka Chattopadhyay who completed her 60 years Diamond Jubilee in her dance career which was organized by Rupa Bharati.It’s a celebration of the triumph of the lady who struggled in her life & made her own place in the dance industry.
The vivacious dancer Keka Chattopadhyay set the floor on fire with her energetic performances. The fun filled extravaganza offered different kind of dance performances .
The spectators witnessed the enthusiasm and energy of the young performers as they enthralled everyone with their performances. The audience enjoyed a lot in the program as it proved as an energy booster for their mind and soul.
Eminent Personalities like Mr Arindam Ganguly (Esteemed Actor,Singer, Writer & Director),Mrs Kheyali Dastidar (Renowned Actor,Writer, Director), Mrs Polly Guha (Renowned Dancer),Prof.Amita Dutt (Uday Sankar Professor of Dance,RBU),Mrs Sreelekha Mukherjee (Eminent Dancer),Kamlamandalam V.R. Venkit (Renowned Dancer, Professor of Dance, RBU), Mrs Kanan Sen (Esteemed Dancer),Dr.G.P.Sarkar,(Chairman,Allen Group of Industries and President of Rupa Bharati) were present to grace the occasion.
Renowned Veteran Dancer Keka Chattopadhyay said ” All the fight and struggle I did in my life only to spread the dance among everyone. The biggest achievement in my life I got with the success of the institute and the students. I am overwhelmed with the arrangements and celebration that my institute does it for me.”
About Nrityashree Keka Chattopadhyay:
Nrityashree Keka Chattopadhyay was born to Mr. Bidyut Kr. Ganguly and
Mrs. Shaibalini Ganguly. Her birth in a orthodox family made her dancing career
quite tough, only receiving support and blessings of her father. She received her initial training at the age of 7 from the disciple of Uday Sankar, Mrs. Priti Chakraborty, who nurtured her dancing passion since childhood. Then she had done her specialization in the classical dance forms from Bangiya Kalalay under the able supervision and guidance of Guru Gopal Pillai, Guru Nirmal Sankar,
Guru Nadia Singh and finally from Guru Sri. Mani Sankar. In the mean-while she was awarded Gold Medal from Rajya Yuva Congress for her Bharatnatyam dancing Talent. Her passion for dancing kept on increasing as she received advanced training from Guru Govindan Kutty and Guru Maruthappa Pillai. Her spellbound performance drew the attention of Sri Atin Lal, who invited her to be the part of the core team of Bharatiya Shilpi Parishad. At this time, she was rightly acclaimed as one of the sensational performers emerging from North Kolkata. Her performance was a combination of grace, glamour and creativity that entranced the audiences. She performed round the country and even got the golden opportunity to perform in front of his excellency, the then President of India,Dr.Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. And also gave live performances in Kolkata Doordarshan.There came a pause in her dancing journey, as she got married to another
orthodox family. But receiving the support of her husband Mr. Raman Chatterjee and a family friend, Mr. Nilmony Mukherjee, she was able to overcome all hurdles and re-establish her career by starting to receive training under Dr. Manjulika Roychowdhury and most importantly founding her dream organisation, Rupa Bharati. This paved another golden path of her career. She was among those feq women, who at that period,
being a housewife, could fight for her career while
balancing her family; a true example of women
empowerment that deserves salutations. She
emerged as a shining star and gifted the audiences
with many beautiful, poignant choreographies and productions, that received applause and standing ovation from many parts of the country. The
organisation was overflooded with shows and appreciating press reviews, which increased her reputation many folds.
The legendary danseuses have been and is still training and nurturing young talents and craving their paths in the dancing world. Its quite rightly said for her that – she eats, sleeps and dreams with dance.
