Asavari Pawar

Hailed as the Dancing Jewel of India, Asavari Pawar had inherited a love for this art form from her illustrious father, Shri Pratap Pawar, who is regarded as one of the leading exponents of the Lucknow gharana of Kathak and has won international acclaim for his work and virtuosity. Asavari took to dancing from the age of 8 as a part of her father’s dance troupe in London.

After continuing her practice in dance under the guidance of her father, she burgeoned into a dancer of immense potential and promise. She returned to India and spent three years of rigorous training with Pandit Vijay Shankar and perfected the art of Kathak dance form, assimilating its Abhinaya and Layakari aspects. She also took training in classical singing under the redoubtable Girija Devi.

‘Creating poetry on stage...’

Endowed with a lissom figure and inherent grace, Asavari’s recitals have been suffused with a rare kind of lyricism. Her scintillating performances with communicative facial expressions, sustained spins and vibrant footwork have established an instant rapport with the spectators. She has a vast, limitless repertoire of emotions she brings into play at her recitals and like an enchantress possessed, she casts a mesmeric impact on her audiences.

‘Picture of youthful loveliness...’

While in the UK, she went onto receive the first Major award named after the then British Prime Minister John Major, for her production of a ballet called ‘The Coat’, which had its world premier in London in 1991. ‘The Coat’ tells the poignant story of a young woman who is due to leave her villiage in India for a new life in Britain. The overcoat she carries with her for the journey symbolizes ‘all her feelings about the strange, cold, incomprehensible country to which she is bound.’ It drew fulsome praise from the press and she received the blessing of no less a person than Pandit Ravi Shankar.

‘And, then, setting the whole ambience afire...’

As well as performing throughout Britain, including at the prestigious South Bank Festival and the Purcell Room in London, Asavari has given a string of recitals in many countries of Europe. She has performed for English, Scottish, West Indian and Italian television, and back home she has appeared several times on Delhi Doordarshan and other satellite channels in different programs. Asavari is currently teaching in Delhi Public School, Delhi.