DnyanjyotiEducationNagpur: Added First Bio First Draft

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Added First Bio First Draft

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{{Short description|Indian classical dancer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
'''Anjali Mehr''' (née '''Hora;''' 1928-1978) was an Indian classical dancer ([[Bharatanatyam|Bharatnatyam]]), choreographer and educator. "Anjaliben", as she was called was known for her bold experiments and innovations in Bharatnatyam. As one of the earliest disciples of the legendary [[Rukmini Devi Arundale|Rukmini Devi]], and among the first students of the [[Kalakshetra Foundation|Kalakshetra]], she played a vital role in building and strengthening dance-education in India.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fs7WAAAAMAAJ |title=Mãrg |publisher=Marg Publications |language=en}}</ref> She was the first Principal of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan's [https://www.bhavans.info/sangeet/index.asp Sangeet Nartan Shikshapeeth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307164920/https://www.bhavans.info/sangeet/index.asp |date=7 March 2022 }}. In 1951, she became one of the two people to be featured from India in Magnum Photos' global project '[https://www.leica-camera.blog/2012/07/19/werner-bischof-generation-x-india-and-japan/ Generation X]'.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KMtVnXDMJ-MC&q=anjali+hora+post |title=Picture Post |date=1953 |publisher=Hulton Press |language=en}}</ref> Anjali Mehr is counted amongst the first few post-Independence dance scholars of India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A 'critic'al loss to Indian Dance |url=https://englisharchives.mathrubhumi.com/features/specials/a-critic-al-loss-to-indian-dance-1.5313484 |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=English.Mathrubhumi|date=28 December 2020 }}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Anjali was born in 1928 to Rameshbhai and Mugdhaben Hora and was their only daughter. She started learning [[Kathak]] at the age of four, but when her parents became acquainted with the [[Theosophical Society Adyar|Theosophical Society]], she started to train in Bharatnatyam at Kalakshetra. Here, she had the opportunity to learn from the greatest Bharatnatyam teachers - Guru [[Meenakshisundaram Pillai]], Chokkalingam Pillai, Sharadambai Devadasi and Dandayudhapani Pillai.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Albuquerque |first=Teresa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRo-AAAAIAAJ&q=Anjali%20Hora |title=Santa Cruz that was |date=1981 |publisher=Albuquerque |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarada |first=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Rr0AAAAMAAJ |title=Kalakshetra-Rukmini Devi: Reminiscences |date=1985 |publisher=Kala Mandir Trust |language=en}}</ref>

== Career ==
In 1947, she was invited by Kulapati [[Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi|Dr. K. M. Munshi]], founder of the Bhavan teach Dance at the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.

For sometime she ran a school "Rukmini Kala Vihar" named after her Guru Rukmini Devi. After her marriage with Dr. Sukumar Merh, Professor and Head of Department of Geology, M. S. University at Baroda, Anjali settled in [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kksZAAAAIAAJ&q=anjaliben |title=Bhavan's Journal |date=1979 |language=en}}</ref>

In the 1950s, when the Faculty of Performing Arts (Dance Department) was established at the [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda|M.S University, Baroda]], Mohan Khokar, another alumni of Kalakshetra, stepped in as the Head of Department. Anjali first joined as a Visiting Professor and later succeeded him as the Head of Department. Here she played a vital role in developing dance pedagogy. She developed an easier learning system for non-Tamil speaking students through her "Stick Drawing Notation System" in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kf-BAAAAMAAJ |title=Attendance: A Publication of the Mohan Khokar Dance Foundation |date=2003 |publisher=The Foundation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda |url=https://www.msubaroda.ac.in/academics/FPA/department/DAN/aboutdepartment |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=www.msubaroda.ac.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Munsi |first1=Urmimala Sarkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bKepAgAAQBAJ |title=Traversing Tradition: Celebrating Dance in India |last2=Burridge |first2=Stephanie |date=2012-03-12 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-70378-2 |language=en}}</ref>

She became known for establishing the Gujarati school of Bharatnatyam through her compositions and dance-dramas. In 1972, she wrote a ''margam'' (a formal dance format in Bharatnatyam) in Gujarati. In 1977, In 1977, Anjali wrote, composed and choreographed the Chandramoulishwara Kuravanji in Gujarati. It is considered to be the first ever Kuravanji (a kind of dance-drama) written in Gujarati. Anjali even composed the music for this Kuravanji in praise of the presiding deity of Somnath in Saurashtra. In doing so, she followed the example of ''Kutrala Kuravanji'' in which she danced as a Sakhi with Rukmini Devi.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kf-BAAAAMAAJ |title=Attendance: A Publication of the Mohan Khokar Dance Foundation |date=2003 |publisher=The Foundation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Meduri |first=Avanthi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uNYZ1vp-xFIC |title=Rukmini Devi Arundale, 1904-1986: A Visionary Architect of Indian Culture and the Performing Arts |date=2005 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-2740-0 |language=en}}</ref>

Anjali was well-versed with Hindustani and Carnatic music and used regional languages (Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi, Assamese) as well as Sanskrit to create compositions which made Bharatnatyam popular in non-Tamil speaking areas. She is also known to have sung for the AIR.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Delhi |first=All India Radio (AIR), New |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQPoDwAAQBAJ&dq=anjali+hora&pg=PA17 |title=THE INDIAN LISTENER: Vol. XVI. No. 23. (3rd JUNE 1951) |date=1951-06-03 |publisher=All India Radio (AIR), New Delhi |language=en}}</ref>

== Works ==
She authored two books in Gujarati : ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=MxTBQejcqXIC Nartanadarśikā]'' (on Bharatanatyam) and ''Chandramaulishwara Kuruvanji with Astha Nayika.'' She also wrote many songs in Gujarati.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kf-BAAAAMAAJ |title=Attendance: A Publication of the Mohan Khokar Dance Foundation |date=2003 |publisher=The Foundation |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehr, Anjali}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:Bharatanatyam dancers]]
[[Category:Indian classical choreographers]]
[[Category:Kalakshetra Foundation alumni]]
[[Category:Indian women choreographers]]
[[Category:Dance writers]]
[[Category:Teachers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women educators]]

Anjali Mehr - Revision history

DnyanjyotiEducationNagpur: Added First Bio First Draft