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Shubhada Varadkar

Shubhada Varadkar is  a fine exponent of the Odissi  form of Indian Classical Dance. She is a Performer, a Choreographer, a Writer, a Guru and a Guide. An artiste with a quest for perfection, Shubhada has taken the divine form of Odissi to transcendental heights with her flawless performances and mentoring of aspiring artistes.

Her individuality, versatility and sensitivity blossomed under the guidance of her Guru, Padmavibhushan Shri Kelucharan Mohapatra. Shubhada also shares a strong bond with BharataNatyam, having  trained  under  Guru  Shri Mani, yet Odissi has remained her first love and her raison d’être.

Hailed as a Prima Dona in Odissi by the critics, Shubhada portrays intensely emotional and lyrical dance bringing out the true spirit of Odissi as a dance of love and passion, in its purity. Her dance is a fascinating union of eloquent expressions, graceful movements and captivating postures right out of Odissi’s legendary heritage. Performance through spontaneous Nritya and Abhinaya comes to her as natural as breathing giving an experience that critics hail as joie de vivre. For Shubhada, dance is not merely a creative art form, but also  a  means  of enriching  and  developing  life.

Early life and family

Born on 09th August 1961, in Mumbai, Varadkar is the third child and only daughter of Manohar and Manik Varadkar. Her father participated in ‘Quit India’ movement and fought for Independence of India. He was honoured by Government of India for his contribution towards Indian freedom struggle. Later on, he worked for Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Her Mother, a social activist belonged to an esteemed family of Doctors was born in Quetta (now in Pakistan). She then migrated to India during the partition. Shubhada’s maternal grandfather is late Dr V. R. Khanolakar the well known Indian pathologist referred as the "Father of Pathology and Medical Research in India". Shubhada has two elder brothers, Mr Shekhar Varadkar who worked for Air India and Mr Shirish Varadkar retired as Banker. She also is also the cousin sister of Leo Varadkar, Prime Minister of Ireland.

In her early life, apart from dance and theatre she was inclined towards sports. She was captain of the Maharashtra State’s Ball Badminton National team. She also represented Mumbai University’s Women Cricket Team. Shubhada received her initial Bharat Natyam training under Guru Shri Mani of Kalasadan Institute of fine arts. Later, she learned Odissi under the guidance of late Padmavibhushan Guru Shri Kelucharan Mohapatra.

Shubhada did her Masters in economics from Mumbai University and was a professor of Economics in R. R. Ruia College. She was also a news reader with Indian television, Mumbai.

Career and performances

Shubhada has been teaching, performing, and conducting workshops in India and abroad for more than a decade. She has been enthralling the audience with her artistic excellence at various prestigious festivals like nationally and internationally like Khujurao Festival (MP), Ellora Festival (Maharashtra), Taj Mahotsav (UP), Art in Action festival (UK), Mahari Festival (Bhubaneshwar), Kalidas festival- Nagpur, Natyanjali festival (Chidambaram)  Kalaghoda festival ( Mumbai ) and many more. For Shubhada, dance is not merely a creative art form, it is also a means of enriching and developing life. She established a charitable trust named Sanskrita Foundation in 2006, dedicated to promote art and culture.

She has choreographed and participated in “Dance of Hope” and “Five Elements”, in a joint venture with western classical choreographer, Curtis Speck in Germany. Her choreographies and productions touch wide-ranging theme. Some of Shubhada’s prominent productions are “Prakriti Nartan” a ballet musically composed by Pt. Vijay Raghav Rao, “Journey to Divinity” based on Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy “Amrut Ghanu” on literature of Sant Dnyaneshwar and Kanupriya based on Dr Dharmvir Bharti’s Poetry. Her deep commitment to this dance form led her to receive prestigious awards mentioned below. She is a national artiste with Doordarshan and continues to perform for the audience on Television, Shubhada is also an empanelled artiste with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

Captivating Performances


 * ApanaUtsav, Mumbai Maharashtra 1991
 * NCPA. Mumbai Maharashtra1991
 * Vividha Kala Mahotsav,Maharashtra 1992
 * PallavUtsavMysore ,Karnataka 1992
 * Swami HaridasSanmelan ,MumbaiMaharashtra1994
 * NrityanjaliFestival ,ChidambaramTamilnadu 1995
 * Ellora Festival, Aurangabad Maharashtra 1995
 * Pune Festival,Pune Maharashtra 1995
 * Dance of Hope, Germany 1998
 * Hindu Centre ,London 1998
 * Asian Music Circle, Manchester UK 1998
 * Vishva Hindu Parishad, Germany 1999
 * Hindu Centre ,Virginia USA 1999
 * ISKCON Amsterdam 1999
 * Soleil D’or Paris 1999
 * University of Michigan, USA 1999
 * School of Philosophy Croydon 2001
 * Art in Action Oxford ,UK 2002
 * KalidasFestival, Nagpur Maharashtra 2003
 * SpicmacayVirasatFestival,Mumbai Maharashtra  2003
 * Elephanta Festival Mumbai Maharashtra 2004
 * Ellora Festival, Aurangabad Maharashtra 2005
 * PrayaagMahotsav ,Mumbai Maharashtra 2006
 * Art in Action, Oxford UK 2007
 * Mumbai Festival ,MumbaiMaharashtra 2008
 * RangashalaUdaypur 2009
 * Taj Mahotsav ,Agra 2010
 * MahariFestival, Bhubaneshwar 2011
 * PrayaagFestval 2012
 * Kala Ghoda Festival, Mumbai Maharashtra 2014
 * NamameeFestival ,Mumbai Maharashtra 2014
 * Khajuraho Festival 2015
 * Nehru Centre ,London 2016
 * Festival of India, Ministry of culture, Ghana 2017
 * NCPA, Mumbai Maharashtra 2017
 * International book exhibition,Caracas Venezuala 2017
 * Mahari Festival,Bhuvaneshwar 2018
 * Uttaradhikar, MP Tribal Musium

Awards
 * Sringar Mani
 * Maharashtra Gaurav
 * Mahari Award
 * Natyaveda Award
 * Natyatarang Award
 * Priyadarshini Award
 * Kalaratna Award

Author Shubhada is also a prolific writer. She has penned her autobiographical account in Marathi titled Mayurpankh and in English as Celestial Plume. Mayurpankh was the first book in Marathi to be published in print, audio, and e-book format. She also the author of the coffee table book Glimpses of Indian classical dance.

PSBT and Films Division of India has produced a documentary on her life journey This documentary made by national awardee documentary film maker Shabnam Sukhdev titled Peacock plume based on her autobiography “Celestial Plume” was showcased at International Documentary and Short Film Festival Kerala.

Quotes
 * “Your soul I seek, Through the movement so slick, Your hand I hold, To conquer the realm of artistic abode”
 * “Born to freedom fighter Shri Manohar Varadkar andSmtManikVaradkarShubhada continuous to carry forward the philanthropic  legacy of family name ‘Varadkar’ along with  the artistic   tradition of her Guru Shri KelucharanMohapatra.”

Reviews There was truth in the performance. Besides graceful movements, precise footwork and tender gestures, it was her abhinaya that raised it to a level above the ordinary. –Shanta Gokhale (Mumbai mirror)
 * Poetry in motion

Petite and pretty Shubhada showed her prowess in an hour long recital she performed on Sunday. She has a figure and felicity, a pleasant disposition and a flair for sensitive and subtle expression which went a long way to make it a compact impressive performance. - Indian Express (Hariharan)
 * ODISSI STEALS THE SHOW


 * This girl is a prima donna in Odissi. Quite unusually graceful, with dynamic movements not seen before. Shubhada’s every sitting and standing position becomes a temple carving her reference to Krishna are delightful cameos of her dream of perfect union. This is Shringaraat a pinnacle of love. -The Afternoon Dispatch and Courier (Himadevi)

A freshness of repertoire and absorbing “Abhinaya” made Shubhada’sOdissi recital stand out… -The Times of India (Hariharan)
 * THE APPEAL OF ABHINAYA

A woman of remarkable beauty who is at the pick of her development as a dancer technically, mentally and spiritually, she reached great heights in the Odissi School of dance. Slim as a larch she offered her heart and soul to god with utmost grace interjected with poses of unbelievable beauty. A sort of restrained vigour rules her performance and she has full control over varied rhythms. -The Afternoon Dispatch and Courier (Himadevi)
 * REALMS OF THE SUBLIME

Shubhada, well-known exponent of Odissi style performed “Jatayu Moksha” with finesse. Her Abhinaya as well as nritta component of dance was worthy of admiration. -The Pioneer
 * SONG OF THE SOUL

The dancer who is a ravishing beauty a fair girl incandescent in a dark green robe, shimmering with silver jewellery lights up the stage with her ardent interpretation of the Lord of all actors and dancers the Nataraja. This I think was the first time I witnessed the dance of Shiva come alive in Odissi. A star was born. -The Afternoon Dispatch and Courier (Himadevi)
 * CREATIVE CONFLUENCE OF ODISSI & BHAJAN

So adept is one Shubhada at jumping from one character’s portrayal to another… she does it with greatest of ease from Ravana as the conqueror of the world to Ravana as an old hermit there, before our eyes , an unbelievable transformation takes place. – Femina
 * JUST ONE FOR MANY

The fight between Ravana and Jatayu was unimaginably detailed, dramatic and the death of Jatayu reminded me of Pavlova in “The Dying Swan .” (Ballet) -The Afternoon Dispatch and Courier (Himadevi)In “moksha”, Shubhada reached a level far above any style of dance, she was in the realms of the sublime. -The Afternoon Dispatch and Courier (Hima Devi)
 * SHUBHADA’S CAPTIVATING PERFORMANCE

In pure Abhinayatoo the artiste was lucid in expression. Shubhada with spontaneity in facial expression and telling gestures interpreted the Ashtapadi number “sakhi hey keshi Mathan Mudaram” -The Times of India (Hariharan)
 * STYLISTIC GRACE


 * When at the close of Jatayu’s death, Shubhada flutters slowly to the ground and collapses; it is the stricken Jatayu that has died before your eyes, not a dancer posing as Jatayu. This girl is the soul of dance. She lives the elusive, fleeting irrevocable moment. -Femina

Reference: https://www.thebetterindia.com/41535/shubhada-varadkar-odissi-dancer/ https://scroll.in/reel/893106/in-documentary-peacock-plume-the-stirring-story-of-how-shubhada-varadkar-danced-around-cancer https://www.thelivemirror.com/shubhada-varadkar-mayurpankh-odissi-dance/ https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/state-editions/delightful-evening-of-classical-ragas-at-tribal-museum.html https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2018/sep/8/15517/peacock-plume-preview-dancing-her-way-to-glory-despite-serious-odds https://www.rfhospital.org/news-and-features/fighting-the-big-c https://evita-salon.ru/video/4af8r5W4eM0.html http://www.kitabkhana.in/events/events/219/Dance-and-Beyond-with-Shubhada-Varadkar https://indisches-filmfestival.de/en/event/documentary-v/ https://m.telegraphindia.com/states/odisha/vibrant-steps-show-promise/cid/1394892 https://www.tomorrowmakers.com/why-stop/dancing-woes-away-how-subadha-didnt-let-cancer-come-way-her-passion-article https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/fighting-cancer-with-dance/ http://womenpla.net/fighting-cancer-with-dance-shubhada-varadkar/ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/How-this-Odissi-dancer-battled-with-cancer/articleshow/36040890.cms https://www.dnaindia.com/just-before-monday/report-fighting-the-big-c-2715273 https://www.mid-day.com/articles/dance-the-victor/15395155 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/leo-varadkar-s-indian-relatives-express-pride-at-his-election-1.3106055

External links https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=peacock+plume

Video links https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Cz8X-WD8I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iuxoxh6k6s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zqMxmJpyDo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GJbXDjeHd4