27/09/2020
Bharatanatyam Guru Rajee Narayan (Aug 19, 1931 – Sept 25, 2020) passed away aged 90.
She was a rare combination of guru, musician, composer and choreographer, with the unique distinction of teaching not only Bharatanatyam, but also Carnatic Music, Natyasastra and Nattuvangam. She established her institution Nritya Geethanjali in Mumbai in 1965. Many of her students run their own institutions all over the world.
Rajee Narayan has served as board member of the University of Mumbai for over two decades and as the external examiner for the Bachelors and Masters degrees in the Fine Arts courses (BFA and MFA) and examiner of thesis for Ph.D.
Her first book of 25 songs for Bharatanatyam, Nritya Geeta Mala, was released in 1985. In the following years, she brought out a second volume of 31 songs and other books. She became one of the few women Vaggeyakara-s of this century, to write exclusively for Bharatanatyam.
Some of her awards include Maharashtra Rashtra Sanskriti Puraskar by the govt of Maharashtra (1996-1997), MS Subbulakshmi Best Teacher of the Year Award by Shanmukhananda Fine Arts (2006) and Tagore Akademi Puraskar by Central Sangeet Natak Akademi (2011).
Her son Shyamsundar Narayan passed away on 1st September 2020.
More info:
Born the eleventh child of illustrious parents on 19th August, 1931 in Chennai, Rajee was brought up in an environment of the fine arts. Her father, Sri S. Narayana Iyer had formed The Shining Star Society with his children, to popularize the music records of HMV Music Company. Barely four and a hal...
