Dancer who introduced Kathak to Bollywood, was forced to marry at 8, saw 3 failed marriages; then...

Sitara Devi was a renowned Indian Kathak dancer, singer, and actress who introduced Kathak to Bollywood. Rabindranath Tagore, after watching her perform at sixteen, affectionately called her Nritya Samragni, the "empress of dance."

She is often regarded as the queen of Kathak. Today, let's take a look at her life journey:

Early life:

Sitara Devi, born Dhanlakshmi in Kolkata on 8 November 1920, was named after the goddess of good fortune due to her birth coinciding with the festival of Dhanteras. Her Brahmin family, originally from Varanasi, had settled in Kolkata. Her father, Sukhdev Maharaj, was a Vaishnavite scholar and Kathak dancer who passed his passion for dance to his children. Devi learned Kathak from him, blending the Benaras and Lucknow Gharanas in her style.

Forced to marry at 8

At age eight, Devi gor reportedly married which was common in those days. But she resisted the marriage and continued her education. While in school, she impressed her teacher with her dance, leading her to perform and teach dance.

Career

Renamed Sitara, she began performing solo at ten and later moved to Mumbai. There, she captivated an audience that included Rabindranath Tagore, who admired her performance and gifted her a shawl and money.

By twelve, Sitara Devi made her film debut and danced in several Hindi films, including Nagina (1951) and Mother India (1957). However, she eventually stopped performing in films to focus on her classical Kathak training.

Personal life:

Sitara Devi married four times. Her first husband was Mr. Desai (about whom little is known). Her second marriage was to actor Nazir Ahmed Khan, which ended in divorce after a brief period. For this marriage, Sitara converted to Islam.

Her third marriage was to filmmaker K. Asif, Nazir's first cousin, and also ended in divorce. Her final marriage was to Hindu Gujarati Pratap Barot, with whom she had a son, Ranjit Barot, born in 1950.

Later Years and Death

In her later years, Sitara Devi continued to teach and inspire a new generation of Kathak dancers. She remained passionate about dance until the end of her life. She received numerous awards and honors, including the Padma Shri in 1973. However, she famously declined the Padma Bhushan, believing that Kathak deserved greater recognition.

Sitara Devi passed away on November 25, 2014, at the age of 94. Her death marked the end of an era, but her legacy as the "Queen of Kathak" lives on. She left behind a rich cultural heritage and a lasting impact on the world of Indian classical dance