Gauhar Jamil (1925-1980)

Dancer and dance director, was born in the village of Sirajdikhan in Bikrampur in a Hindu family. His given name was Ganesh Nath, but he assumed the name Gauhar Jamil after marrying a Muslim girl named rawshan. He was interested in dancing since childhood and took lessons from various renowned teachers including uday shankar, Sharbashree Maruthappa Pillai (Bharatnatyam), Bal Keshta Menon (Kathakali), Ramnarayan Mitra (Kathak), and Bhaskar Dev. He taught at Shilapakala Bhavan, bulbul lalitakala academy, and Qamrunnessa School before founding his own school, Jago Art Centre, in 1959. He choreographed many dance dramas, among them, Samanya Ksati, Anarkali, Bichar, Kanchan Mala, Itihaser Ekti Pata, and Chhiyattarer Manantar. Among his shorter pieces, Jhumur, Krisan-Krisani, Jele, Sapude and Navanna were very popular.

On 21 September 1980 he succumbed to injuries received in a road accident.

:: Added 28-07-2005 @ 1305 GMT