Date: 24th December 2005, By: Sonal Mansingh
“A dancer is not just a dancer.She is a part of this environment. She does not exit in a vacuum. Society and its happenings have an impact on all individuals, especially artistes. If and art from does not reflect the existing milieu, it stagnates”.
Mrs. Sonal mansingh needs no introduction to the connoisseurs of music and art.
This year Punjab heritage function at Amritsar started with her presentation. It is difficult to describe Sonal Mansing in few words. She is a multi faceted personality. Apart from being a classic dancer-leading exponent of Odissi, Sonal Mansingh is a social activist, thinker, resercher, orator and choreographer. She has been the chairperson of india leading institution sahitya Academy.
Sonal comes from a great lineage and has been a path breaker all the time. Her grandfather Mr. Mangaldas pakvasa was Governor of Mumbai. Her mother Poornima Pakvasa was very known artistic minded personality. Her husband lalit mansingh has been the indian Ambassador to many countries, their family was based in Orissa and this took Sonal to Odissi Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra in Cuttack and thus started her training in Odissi from 1965
Sonal mansingh is recipient of innumerable numbers of awards and was the yougest to receive the PADMA BHUSHAN awarded by the President of India in 1992.
Sje is today the acknowledged master of interpreting India through dance and related artistic traditions. Sonal has been called a philosopher among dancers.
