Ravi Jain
Born in an art loving family, Ravi Jain’s father Sh. Shrimandar Das Jain was well placed in a private limited firm and had the hobby of playing Banjo. His grandfather, a businessman by profession, danced on Jain Bhajans in Temples at several religious occasions, as an offering to the lord.
Ravi as a child grew up in the city of Calcutta and had the good fortune of seeing artistes like Guru Shambhu Maharaj, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pt. Sukhdev Maharaj, Alaknanda Devi , Sitara Devi, Gopi Kishen, Pt. Chaube Maharaj, Maharaj Krishna Kumar, Sh. Damodar Mishra, Pt. Gopal Mishra, Ust. Allah Rakha Khan Sahab, Pt. Anokhe Lal Ji, Pt. Shanta Prasad ji, Pt. Mani Prasad ji, Chhaya Devi and many more in the Mehfil programmes that were arranged in his father’s house. It was within this atmosphere that Ravi was drawn towards the beautiful world of Dance.
He received He received his training in Kathak from Guru Shambhu Maharaj, Smt Alaknanda Devi and Pt. Chaube Maharaj and started performing on stage from an early age of eight years. Since then he has established himself as a performer and choreographer on stage. Since 1971, he has performed, produced and choreographed many productions for Doordarshan, some of them being ‘Tum Chandan Hum Pani’, based on the life of Sant Ravi Das;
'Pratham Purush', 'Yashodhara', 'Jyoti Pushp', 'Shiv Bhakt-Kanappa', 'Varsha Mangal',
'Ab aeyo Khelan Hori' etc. He has also choreographed for various serials like ‘ Zindagi is pal zindagi us pal’ and telefilms and serials produced by eminent poet Sh. Ashok Chakradhar like ‘ Dhai Akhar’, ‘Bua Bhatiji’, ‘Gulabari’, ‘Baisakhi’, ‘Bitiya’ and many more.
Professionally, Ravi Jain holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering and has retired from D.V.B from the XEN Grade in 2003. His contribution to the field of Music and Dance still continues in the form of Knowledge that he passes on to the next generation and provides a platform to young upcoming artistes through his organization Kala Kunj, J Extension.
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Nalini Jain
Born in a well- educated music loving family, Nalini from a very early age showed great inclination towards Dance. Academically, a bright student , Nalini started receiving her training in Kathak at the age of 10years and later had the good fortune of learning under the Great Master’s of the Jaipur Gharana, Pt. Sunder Prasad Ji and Guru Kundan Lal Gangani. While her training in Kathak carried on , she also had the priviledge to learn Odissi from Guru Hare Krishna Behra and the Legendary Guru , Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra.
After Graduating in Political Science( Hons) from Lady Shriram College, Delhi University, she pursued her dance career and soon drew appreciation from Critics like Shanta Sarbajit Singh, Sh. V.V Prasad, Sh. Subramanium and from her audiences. A performer par excellence, with inimitable grace, stage presence and technique, Nalini soon had her name added in the list of Best Kathak performers.
An A- Grade Artiste of Doordarshan and an Empanelled Artiste of the I.C.C.R, Nalini was sent to Afghanistan in 1971 and 1975, as a part of Cultural exchange , where she performed in the presence of King Zaheer Shah and was bestowed the title of ‘Rakkasa- e- Hind’.
She has also choreographed Ballets, Dance – Dramas for stage and Doordarshan and has also worked with physically challenged children. Currently she is working as a Dance consultant with the NIE Division, The Times of India. |
Guru Sh. A. M Rao
An A- grade Artist of All India Radio and Doordashan and a composer par excellence, Guru Sh. A. M Rao was trained in Gwalior gharana of Hindustani classical vocal music by legends like. Pt. kashinath Bodas, Pt. Adinarayan Ji, Pt. J.V.S Rao and Professor Gopal Panda.
With over 100 compositions in Ballets , he has composed many Devotional Songs, specially in Sanskrit, Oriya and Hindi. He has also lend his voice as a playback singer to many Oriya Films. He has also worked with the legendary Guru’s like Late Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra, Guru Raghunath Dutta and Odissi dance Exponents like Sharon Lowen and many others
As a dedicated Guru , he worked as a member of the Music Faculty in Orissa Research Centre and has many students throughout the country.
Presently he is working As Asst. Director of Programmes in Doordarshan Directorate,New Delhi.
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