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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian-Bengali musician (1905–1976)}}<br />
[[File:ManiBardhan c. 1967.jpg|thumb|Mani Bardhan in South India, c. 1967]]<br />
'''Mani Bardhan''' ({{langx|bn|মণি বর্ধন}}) (13 December 1905 – 28 December 1976) was an Indian [[Bengali people|Bengali]] musician, dancer<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mukherjee |first=A.R. |title=Current Affairs (1959) |publisher=A. Mukherjee & Co. Pvt. Ltd. |year=1959 |edition=11th |location=Kolkata |pages=390 |language=en|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nw8YAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> and choreographer specializing in [[Indian classical dance]] styles like [[Bharatnatyam]], [[Kathakali]], [[Odissi]] and [[Kathak]].<ref name="Statesman">{{Cite news |date=30 December 1976 |title=Obituary - Mani Bardhan |work=The Statesman, Kolkata}}</ref><br />
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==Early life and career==<br />
Mani was born in the village of [[Brahmanbaria]] in the erstwhile [[British Raj|Colonial India]], modern-day [[Bangladesh]].{{r|Statesman}} He graduated from [[Comilla Victoria Government College|Victoria College]], [[Comilla]]. A [[Indian flute|flautist]] in college, he formed a musical group with [[S. D. Burman]] and [[Ajoy Bhattacharya]].{{r|Statesman}}<br />
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While in [[South India]] recuperating from an illness, he became interested in classical dance and trained in the South Indian styles of [[Bharatnatyam]] and [[Kathakali]]. He formed a dance troupe upon his return; later in life he also learned [[Dances of Manipur|Manipuri dance]], [[Kathak]] and [[Odissi]]. He was also familiar with the [[folk dance]]s of Bengal, [[Bali]], [[Java]], [[Japan]], [[Nepal]] and [[Tibet]].<br />
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Bardhan became popular in the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Cultural Profile of Calcutta |publisher=Indian Anthropological Society |year=1972 |location=India |pages=191 |language=en}}</ref> His most well-known roles were those of [[Brihannala]], [[Chandra|Somadeva]] and [[Shiva]]. He also served as dance director at [[New Theatres]] for three years. During [[World War II]] he gave up dancing and dedicated himself to social service, rejecting offers from the colonial government to entertain troops.<br />
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==Writing and theoretical work==<br />
Bardhan published an encyclopedia on Bengali folk dance and music under the patronage of the government of [[West Bengal]] in 1961, called ''Banglar Lokonrityo O Geetiboichitro'' (''বাঙলার লোকনৃত্য ও গীতিবৈচিত্র'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bardhan |first=Mani |title=বাংলার লোকনৃত্য ও গীতিবৈচিত্র |publisher=কলকাতা লোকসংস্কৄতি ও আদিবাসী সংস্কৄতি কেন্দ্র|year=1961 |isbn=81-87360-74-7 |location=Kolkata |language=bn}}</ref> It contained detailed descriptions of Bengali performance arts, including [[Baul]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chakraborty |first=Ayantika |date=2021 |title=Post-UNESCO Effect: The Journey of Chhau from Cultural Sentiment to Commercialization |url=https://www.academia.edu/66594032 |journal=Ethnographica et Folkloristica Carpathica |issue=23 |pages=76 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref> and [[Chhau dance|Chhau]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhaduri and Chatterjee |first=Manjulika and Santosh Kumar|title=The Art of Hindu Dance |publisher=Bankim Chandra Chatterjee |year=1945 |location=Kolkata |language=en|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jsEMAAAAYAAJ&q=mani%20bardhan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarkar |first=Rebati Mohan |title=Bauls of Bengal: In the Quest of Man of the Heart |publisher=Gian Publishing House |year=1990 |isbn=9788121203203 |location=India |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref> His magnum opus ''Nabanga'', on the nine aspects of dance, remains unpublished. He also gave lectures and presentations on Indian dance.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Asiatic Society Yearbook, 1960. |publisher=Asiatic Society of India |year=1960 |pages=94 |language=en|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzEWAQAAMAAJ&q=mani%20bardhan}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bardhan, Mani}}<br />
[[Category:Indian male dancers]]<br />
[[Category:1905 births]]<br />
[[Category:1976 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian male musicians]]<br />
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Bengali people]]</div>Yaxisdelhi