The dance historian Sunil Kothari passes away at 87
The dance historian, critic, and Padma Shri awardee Sunil Kothari breathed his last breath on the morning of Sunday. He suffered a cardiac arrest on the 27th of December to which he lost his life. Quoting dancer Vidha Lal, a family friend of Sunil Kothari, PTI reported that he had tested positive for COVID-19 in November.
Kothari was healing at home in the Asian Games Village, but was taken to the hospital after suffering a heart attack this morning, she said. Sunil Kothari was born on December 20, 1933, in Mumbai. He graduated as a chartered accountant before going on to study Indian dance styles.
He has penned more than 20 books on Indian dance styles, including “Sattriya Dance of Assam,” “New Directions in Indian Dance.” Kothari also wrote on Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Chhau, Kathak, Kuchipudi, and Photo Biographies of Uday Shankar and Rukmini Devi Arundale.
Anita Ratnam remembers the late critic
Dancer and former collaborator Anita Ratnam recalled the late critic for his “infectious enthusiasm”. Kothari first encountered her at a dance recital in Chennai in 1970 when she was just a teenager.
“After the performance, he rushed backstage and looked at me and said ‘apsara! apsara! (fairy) in his normal enthusiastic voice. He was not somebody who would just come for the dance. Sir would even come for the rehearsals, he would talk to everybody present, he wanted to know the whole process. He was part of a very important dance movement,” Ratnam states.
The dance scholar held the Uday Shankar Chair at Rabindra Bharati University and taught as a Fulbright Professor at the Dance Department of New York University.
Kothari received various distinctions and awards for his contributions to Indian dance forms, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award(1995); the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi Award(2000); the Padma Shri Award of the Government of India(2001); and the Life Time Achievement Award of the Dance Critics Society, New York, USA.
He also became a Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi for his contributions to Indian dance as a scholar.
Tributes Pour in for the Famed Historian Sunil Kothari
Author Aseem Chhabra took to Twitter to say farewell to the esteemed dance historian.
Read his Tweets here.
Kothari was among the 27 artists who were told in November to evacuate their government-provided homes by 31 December. The dance historian had said that he felt “humiliated” by being served by a “get out” note.
“I am the awardee of Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi. I’ve written many books on Indian classical dance styles and related art forms. I’ve been a member of several commissions, and that’s what my government is giving me back.
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