Prerana Shrimali, a senior dancer from the Jaipur Gharana of Kathak

On the other hand, if you make hard work and consistency a part of your habit, then definitely success will kiss your forehead. You will have to take steps for the progress of your life because your journey does not end just by traveling in your thoughts. You will have to move forward for that, but even in that you cannot make excuses, you will have to keep moving without stopping, that is, you will have to keep trying. Only your persistence will be able to cross your path easily.

Renowned Kathak dancer of Jaipur Gharana, Prerna Shrimali is rich in amazing talent. She performed on the first stage show of his life at the age of five. And since then till now she has been refining her choreography every day. Even today she keeps searching for something new in her practice or teaching.

Prerna Shrimali is not only perfect in the intricate grammar and nuances of the Jaipur Gharana, but she has also surpassed her mentor in Kathak through new experiments and imagination of poetry and music.

She is equally adept in dancing and acting. She has prepared and successfully presented dance performances on the works of ancient, medieval, and modern Sanskrit, Hindi, and Urdu poets – Kalidas, Amru, Meera, Kabir, Padmakar, Ghalib, and even French poet 'Yve Bonfoua'. 

Prerna Ji transforms poems and songs into dance through her intense acting in a new and unique way. She considers Kathak as a language.

Prerna Ji believes that it is necessary to change the style with time. She believes that there is limitless scope for experiments in Kathak.

Internationally renowned Prerna ji has been making her presence felt in all major music-dance festivals of the world, such as India's Khajuraho Music Festival, and France's Festival de Avignon.

She has been awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 2009.

Prerna ji has been honored with Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Rajiv Gandhi Foundation's National Integration Award.

Kathak is a dance form in Rajasthan and North India which is a very old dance form. Ghungroo has an important place in the Kathak dance style. In this, Ghungroos are most important in the presentation of rhythmic footsteps, panoramic circling, etc.

Prerna Ji likes tennis very much. Steffi Graf is her favorite player. She also has a keen interest in literature and music.

Prerna Ji is well-versed in dance as well as in classical music. She has also taken formal training in Pakhawaj from Purushottamdas ji. She was considered the biggest guru of that time.

Presently Prerna ji is a guest teacher of Kathak at Shri Ram Bhartiya Kala Kendra, Delhi.

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Journey of Life

Prerna Shrimali was born in 1959 in Banswara, Jaipur, Rajasthan. Her family lived in Johri Bazaar in Jaipur.

Once the famous Kathak guru, Kundan Lal Gangani of Jaipur Gharana came to show his horoscope to his grandfather. His grandfather was an astrologer. There he saw little Prerna ji and advised her grandfather to teach her Kathak.

Now seeing Prerna Ji's interest in dance at a young age, her mother asked her to learn Kathak. Just then Kundan Lal Gangani became her teacher. She tied the ganda, worship took place and then Guruji started teaching her.

At that time people used to sleep mostly on the ground by putting beds on it. Many times her Guruji would suddenly come in the night and her mother would remove the bed, and make a place, then Guruji would teach her to dance. Sometimes early in the morning, meaning it is a holiday and she is sleeping till late, then child Prerna ji used to feel so bad that she used to say in her mind – “Why do they come, anytime?”

After completing her studies, Prerna Ji was asked by her guru to come to Delhi and take training in Kathak Kendra.

But his family was not ready to send the daughter alone in such a big city. Despite strong protests, Prerna ji came to Delhi, from where her dance journey started and today she is a famous dancer.

It is certain that you keep going deep in every art, only then you reach the top.

Footwork is very important in Kathak. Prerna ji had learned the treatment of 'flat foot' i.e. full foot since childhood. She started learning to wear heels later when she came to Delhi in 1978. She found it a bit difficult to walk on heels.

Your feet become strong with the help of the whole foot and in Kathak, it is necessary to extract every word from the feet.

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Prerna ji considers Padsanalan i.e. Tatkar to be the heartbeat of Kathak.

It was the habit of her Guruji that when she used to teach bandish, she used to say that it should be remembered completely. One bandish she found a bit challenging to learn was 'tripalli' which also had gaat attached to it. That is, it used to start from Gat and used to go to 'Tripalli'. In between that third was also coming, which became a complete combination. She had difficulty extracting her charms because she was slow. She learned to take out his lyrics first with his feet, and later her teacher taught her the part.

Completed Guruji's last challenge, which is his tribute to him.

In the last days of her life, her Guruji had prepared a stanza of Nakkare. And they made her captive. Which she left incomplete, which means its third was not made. Before that, she had come to Prerna ji's house where she used to take a room in Bengali Market, Delhi. Guruji asked him to come to his house, and there, she made a bandish.

'Taditdam-tadidam' which used to sound like 'tad tad tad' was not taught by her Guruji, she only spoke it. Which she did not want to lose at all.

Prerna ji and her Guruji's son Rajendra Gangani both put their mind and prepared her, because of the level she was made of, she should also come to a third of the same level. Then they took out her organ in their own way.

Prerna ji believes that if you are a Kathak dancer or dancer and you have complete classical knowledge of it, then whatever poem you compose in the style of Kathak, it will become a part of Kathak. This shows how much hold you have on a language.

Prerna has enthralled the audience with her performances on many forums in India and abroad.

Prerna ji is a versatile dancer, she has developed an individual style in her performance.

She has choreographed several productions including Doosro Na Koi – Meera Ke Chhand, Avatar, Vistaar, Vivruti, and Aarti. She has participated in many international dance seminars and conferences. She has presented Kathak at the Festival of India in the UK, Asian Performing Arts Festival in Japan, Avignon Festival in France, and Dance Festival in Switzerland.

She has presented many shows in America at Carnegie Hall, New York, Jordan, Syria, and Muscat.

She has also trained young dancers in renowned institutes like Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and Shri Ram Bhartiya Kala Kendra.

She has also served as the head of the repertory (list of performers) at Kathak Kendra, Delhi.

Her dance has been featured in the film The Far Pavilion produced by the BBC.

She has directed a film Pathrai Aankhon Ke Sapne for Doordarshan.

Prerna ji is also very fond of writing poetry. Tatkar Kathak Ki Antar Yatra, the first book written by her, which is based on the Kathak dance, is going to hit the market soon.

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Awards and Honors

• Shringaramani Sursingar Parliament, Bombay (1981)
• Kalashri Shri Sangeet Bharti, Bikaner, (1986)
• Yuva Ratna Jaipur Jaysees, Jaipur (1988)
• Rajasthan Yuva Ratna Rajasthan Yuvajan Pravarti Samaj, Jaipur (1989)
• Shrikant Verma National Award Bhartiya Kalyan Parishad, New Delhi (1989)
• Prashasti Samaroh Rajasthan Samaroh, Jaipur (1990)
• Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi (1993)
• Aadharshila Award Group of Journalists, Writers, and Artists, Delhi (1996)
• Rashtriya Ekta Puruskaar Rajiv Gandhi's 57th Birth Anniversary (2001)
• Raza Award Raza Foundation, Delhi (2004)
• Keshav Memorial Award Kaladharmi, Delhi (2008)
• 10th Vimala Devi Samman Vimala Devi Foundation, Ayodhya (2010)

If you are trying, then no one can stop your flight of success. Only and only you can determine the path to each and every destination of yours. As long as you are not aware of your purpose, then circumstances will only be a hindrance.

Start quitting, then get excited and start again and quit again and after some time get excited again. This will only be a joke to yourself because success is not possible without consistency in life goals and objectives.

Salutations to the famous and wonderful queen of Jagdisha. We wish you a healthy life and your growing fame through new experiments in the art of Kathak dance.

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