Dance legend Amala Shankar, wife of Uday Shankar, dies at 101 in Kolkata

Renowned danseuse Amala Shankar died today in Kolkata at the age of 101.

Amala, a pioneering figure in the world of fusion dance and wife of the legendary dancer-choreographer Pandit Uday Shankar, had reached the landmark of 101 only last month.

Apart from earning acclaim around the world for her dance, Amala Shankar was also known for her works as a painter and writer.

Mother of musician Ananda Shankar, famed for his fusion compositions, and dancer-actress Mamata Shankar, Amala started learning dance at a young age. Though born in a mercantile family of Jessore (now in Bangladesh), she was encouraged to pursue her passion in an era when women from 'respectable' households were not allowed to perform in public.

Amala happened to meet her guru and husband-to-be at the International Colonial Exhibition in Paris, France. According to The Indian Express newspaper, Uday Shankar’s mother Hemangini Devi requested Amala’s father Akshay Nandy to leave the girl with their troupe. Nandy agreed and thus commenced her journey as a dancer.

Amala delivered her first public performance as Kaliya in Kaliya Daman in Belgium the following year. In 1942, she and Uday Shankar, more than 18 years her senior, were wed. Amala went on to become a stalwart of dance and carried her husband's legacy forward with her performances and teachings.

Amala also played the lead role in Uday Shankar’s magnum opus Kalpana (1948), based on the maker’s dream of setting up a dance academy. The film, made in 1948, was restored after Amala’s brother-in-law, the sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, requested filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation for support and funds. The film was screened at the Cannes Classic Section in 2012. Amala Shankar, then a sprightly 93, graced the red carpet.

Amala Shankar was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Tagore Ratna award in 2012 and the Banga Vibhushan award the previous year for her contributions to dance.

Her granddaughter, actress and dancer Sreenanda Shankar expressed grief at the loss and at not being able to fly to Kolkata from Mumbai to see her beloved ‘Thamma’ one last time.