Mrinalini

A disciple of (Padmashree and SNA Awardee) Shovana Narayan, I have been training under my guru for the last sixteen years. I graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women with a major in Statistics and am presently pursuing a Masters in Operational Research from University of Delhi. I have performed on various platforms in India and abroad both as a soloist and as a part of Guru Shovana Narayan's repertory.
I gave my first solo performance at the age of eleven at Kamani auditorium, new Delhi. Since then I have been a part of niche productions staged at all prestigious auditoriums in the capital. Some notable performances outside Delhi include the Konark festival, Vrindavan festival, Bihar Mahotsav, Kurukshetra festival etc. I accompanied my Guru to the SPICMACAY Jharkhand Chapter and have been part of several Doordarshan recordings.
I have been fortunate to share the stage with my Guru in a duet dance drama titled 'Mohan and Rambha' penned down by late professor Ramu Gandhi. Another duet production with my Guru was staged at Kathak duet festival in Delhi which was based on one of Tagore's stories. My solo performances include an evening at the India International centre, at Delhi dance and theatre festival, Mines Safety week in bharatpur etc.
A few years ago I was selected to perform at Dev Anand's birth anniversary as a tribute to his work in cinema. The show at LTG auditorium in Delhi saw many dignitaries such as LK Advani. This performance was later repeated at the Delhi international film festival and received a lot of praise. The event was covered by Hindustan Times.
Last year I traveled to the USA with my Guru and performed in Dallas, Berkeley, Wilkes Barre, California and Philadelphia. At the Berkeley university I presented a lecture demonstration on Kathak for the students and professors. I also conducted a Kathak dance workshop in San Jose with the students of InSync Kathak School.
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Kathak is an inseparable part of my being. With my parents' blessings and my Guru's guidance I strive to achieve more reach day.
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