Sonal Mansingh

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sonal Mansingh

• Sonal Mansingh is famous for Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and Manipuri dance forms. She has an extensive knowledge of Indian music and philosophy. She is a dance Guru (trainer).

  

• She is a believer of the Guru-Shishya Parampara tradition.

  

• She was just 4 years old when she started learning Manipuri dance. At the age of 7, she began her training in Bharatanatyam. Her early dance Gurus were from the Pandanallur School.

  

• Sonal’s professional Bharatanatyam training was done in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) under Guru U. S. Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi, a married couple. She was then 18 years old.

  

• Her professional Odissi dance training was done in Cuttack under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She was introduced to him by her father-in-law, Dr. Mayadhar Mansingh.

• In 1994, Sonal Mansingh was invited by the Dalai Lama for a dance performance at the Tibetan Theatre Institute in McLeod Ganj. She was the first to be invited to dance by the Dalai Lama and performed the Chariya Geeti – Buddhist tantric songs from the 16 Siddhas.

  

• Sonal Mansingh opened a learning centre to promote the Indian culture of music, yoga, and dance in Delhi in 1977. It is known as Shri Kamakhya Kalapeeth or the Centre for Indian Classical Dances (CICD).

  

• In 1999, Sonal Mansingh went to perform in Srinagar and Leh for the soldiers who took part in the Kargil War.

  

• Sonal Mansingh has participated as a motivational speaker at a TEDx event.

  

• In 1992, Sonal Mansingh was the youngest dancer to receive the Padma Bhushan.

• She was the second woman dancer to receive the Padma Vibhushan award after Balasaraswati.

• ‘Sonal Mansingh: A Life Like No Other’ is the biography of Sonal Mansingh, written by Sujata Prasad who fondly calls her ‘apa’ (beloved sister).

  

• A documentary titled “Sonal” on her life was filmed in 2002 by the noted Hindi cinema director Prakash Jha to highlight her 40 years of contribution to Indian classical dances.

• She was selected as the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi on 9 December 2003 for 5 years; however, she resigned in June 2005 due to allegations, claiming her to be ‘dictatorial’ and a supporter of the BJP.

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi selected Sonal Mansingh as the NAVRATNA for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) for the year 2014.

• In 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind nominated her as a member of the Rajya Sabha.

• Sonal Mansingh has penned a few books like ‘Classical Dances’ and ‘ A Zig Zag Mind.’

  

• Sonal Mansingh and Waheeda Rehman learned Bharatanatyam from the same Guru in Bombay.

• She supports Indian handloom clothing and wears only handloom clothes.

  

• Her mother, Poornima Pakvasa, is a Padma Shri awardee in social work. President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam awarded her this honour in 1974.

  

• Sonal Mansingh is an environmentalist and often shares her thoughts on it on her social media handles.

  

• Sonal loves swimming.