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Durgapur,
12 Jan 04 : It was at the age of five that Sadananda Biswas, who has recently made a name for himself as a Kathak dancer, was first introduced to this dance form. Years later, Delhi residents have now started enquiring about this youth from Durgapur.
For Sadananda, who is a disciple of Pandit Rajendra Kumar Gangani of Jaipur gharana, Kathak is a way of life. After completing his Sangeet Visharad diploma
from Kolkata and Nritya Visharad from Prayag, Sadananda moved to New Delhi for a diploma from the Kathak Kendra and completed the post-diploma course successfully.
But this young talent was noticed for the first time during Expo-1994, a cultural event promoted by the Durgapur Children’s Academy of Culture. I was just 16 years old then. I bagged the first prize, and that inspired me to aim even higher. He won the national scholarship given by the ministry of culture in
2001.
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Recently, the Durgapur youth returned from Alaska after participating in a festival promoted by the Asian-Alaskan Cultural
Centre. He was accompanied by Padmashree Shovana Narayanan. Sadananda has also managed to win the title of Mr International conferred by Grasim Suiting. Sadananda remarks that his performance at the Grasim contest is his memorable one till date. He added: I had been to Gwalior for the contest. There, I learnt a great deal about the use of light and
stagecraft.
Sadananda wants to become a successful choreographer and an undisputed exponent of
Kathak. He said: Pandit Birju Maharaj is my role model. I am trying to develop my abilities and mould myself so as to become like him.
Sadananda’s training in Kathak began in his hometown, Durgapur. Seeing his devotion to the performing arts, his parents sent him to Nirmal Nag, his first guru in 1988. Young Sadananda also exhibited an interest in Rabindra Nritya and began using abhinaya in his performances. He has also won praise from dance gurus like Sonal Man Singh and Shovana Narayan for his solo and group performances in ballets composed by them. He now teaches Kathak free of cost to the students of St Matthews Church,
Laxminagar, Delhi. Sadananda’s present goal is to teach more and more children this classical form, as he believes they are the flag-bearers of modern India.
He said: I don’t lead a lavish life here. I have to manage my shopping and cooking as well as find time for my dance. Dance has brought me a great deal of calm and peace and helped me become more
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