Rita Devi

🪔 About

Born Rita Mukherjee on December 6, 1924, in Assam, Ritha Devi was a distinguished Indian classical dancer. She hailed from a cultured family, being a relative of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and the granddaughter of Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa, the father of modern Assamese literature. Her family later relocated to Baroda, and she completed her graduation from Bombay University. Despite initial objections from her father, Ritha Devi pursued her passion for classical dance, undertaking rigorous training in seven forms: Manipuri, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Mohiniattam, Sattriya Nritya, Kuchipudi, and Odissi, each studied in its entirety and traditional purity. Her Bharatanatyam training was under the esteemed Guru Pandanallur Meenakshisundaram Pillai. Ritha Devi is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the revival and international projection of the Mahari (Devadasi) tradition of the Odissi style, which she deeply studied from 1963 onwards under Adiguru Shri Pankaj Charan Das. She was also the first woman to be taught the sacred Sattriya Nritya of Assam and the first dancer to present it outside Assam and India. Her illustrious career included a worldwide tour in 1970, and from 1972 to 1982, she served as a professor in New York University's Dance Department. For 35 years, she ran a dance academy in New York. Ritha Devi performed in prestigious venues such as the Carnegie Recital Hall as early as 1975, receiving rave reviews from art critics. She was described as a consummate actress, capable of conveying emotions through every part of her body, with her face itself seeming to dance. Though only 4-feet-11-inches tall, she commanded the stage during her performances, which often lasted three to four hours. In her later years, she returned to Pune, India, where she passed away at the age of 92 in 2017, following a stroke on July 30. Awards & Honours: Choreography Fellowship from Creative Artists' Public Service Program (New York) (1979), Choreography Fellowship from National Endowment for the Arts (Washington-based) (1982), Choreography Fellowship from National Endowment for the Arts (Washington-based) (1984).