Smitha Rajan
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{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Smitha Rajan
| image = Smitha Rajan.JPG
| caption = Smitha Rajan in a Mohiniyattam posture
| image_size = 300
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|1969}}
| birth_place = Kerala, India
| genre = Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi
| website = http://www.smitharajan.com/
}}
Smitha Rajan (born in 1969) is an Indian Mohiniyattam performer from Kerala and granddaughter of the Indian classical dancers Padma Shri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma.
Biography
Smitha Rajan started her dance training at her maternal grandparents' residence in Tripunithura near Kochi.{{citation needed|date= September 2022}} As a child, Smitha was surrounded by dance and music. Smitha's aunt, Kala Vijayan (a recipient of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award for Mohiniyattam) was the first to notice talent in young Smitha during a master class at her grandparents' institution, Kerala Kalalayam in Tripunithura. Smitha's aunt saw Smitha performing a full Cholkettu (the first item in a typical Mohiniyattam repertoire) along with the senior students.{{Cite web |title=Smitha Rajan – NATYA |url=https://www.natya.org/smitha-rajan/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |language=en-US}} From then, Kala Vijayan started training her in Bharatanatyam. Smitha did her Arangetram in Bharatanatyam at the age of 4. Her mother, Sreedevi Rajan, taught Smitha her first lessons in Mohiniyattam and Smitha performed her Arangetram in Mohiniyattam at the age of 6. She later mastered Mohiniyattam under the guidance of her grandmother.{{Cite web |title=Smitha Rajan – NATYA |url=https://www.natya.org/smitha-rajan/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |language=en-US}}
Her grandfather, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, taught her Kathakali and fine-tuned her Mukha abhinaya (facial expressions).{{cite web|title=Interview: A Journey in Mohiniyattam|url=http://www.narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrvw61.html|accessdate=23 Jan 2004}} Smitha has also undergone training in classical Carnatic music under Professor Kalyanasundaram. She taught at her parents' institution, Kerala Kalalayam, from 1983 to 1990.
Smitha has performed with many classical dancers from India in dance styles such as Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and Kuchipudi.{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Aliya |date=2022-02-25 |title=Smitha Rajan: The Internationally Acclaimed Mohiniyattam Dancer |url=https://www.thetalentedindian.com/smitha-rajan-the-internationally-acclaimed-mohiniyattam-dancer/ |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=The Talented Indian |language=en-US}}
She became a professional dancer at the age of 12. In 1980, Smitha accompanied her grandmother, her mother, and her aunt to popularize Mohiniyattam in India and other countries.{{citation needed|date= September 2022}}{{Cite web |title=Smitha Ranjan |url=https://totalkerala.com/smitha-rajan/}} She was the leading performer of Kerala Kalalayam from 1979 to 1992. She has assisted her mother, grandmother, and aunt in teaching Mohiniyattam to a number of today's Mohiniyattam performers. In 2014, she received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.keralaculture.org/dance-a-ksna/466|title=Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award: Dance|publisher=Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala|access-date=26 February 2023}}
Smitha lives in St. Louis, Missouri, along with her family, and is running the institution Nrithyakshetra "Temple of Dance"{{cite news|title=New York Times: To Become Another Being| work=The New York Times | date=14 August 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/arts/dance/indian-dance-and-music-at-the-drive-east-festival.html?_r=0|accessdate=14 Aug 2014| last1=MacAulay | first1=Alastair }} as a branch of the institution Guru Sreedevi Rajan started in Kochi, in association with the parent institution Kerala Kalalayam.{{cite web|title=Official Site of Smitha Rajan|url=http://www.smitharajan.com|accessdate=31 May 2010}}
She produced as well as appeared in the 2019 documentary on Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma titled "Mother of Mohiniyattam," which was directed by Dr. Vinod Mankara.{{Cite news|title=Walking in the steps of Kalyanikuttty Amma|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/vinod-mankaras-mohinyattathinte-amma-on-kalamandalam-kalyanikutty-amma-chronicles-her-contributions-in-shaping-mohiniyattam/article30459809.ece}}
References
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Category:Mohiniyattam exponents
Category:Indian female classical dancers
Category:Bharatanatyam exponents
Category:20th-century Indian dancers
Category:20th-century Indian women artists
Category:Women artists from Kerala
Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award