Madame Menaka
A fair-skinned Bengali woman wearing a dupatta to loosely cover her head, and dark beads
Menaka (Leila Sokhey), from a 1938 publication
Born
Leila Roy

October 15, 1899
Barisal, East Bengal
DiedMay 30, 1947
Other namesLeila Sokhey
OccupationDancer
SpouseSahib Singh Sokhey

Madame Menaka (October 15, 1899 – May 30, 1947) was the professional name of Leila Roy, Lady Sokhey, an Indian dancer and choreographer in the Kathak tradition.

Early life and education

Leila Roy was born in Barisal, Bengal Presidency, the daughter of Pyare Lal Roy and Lolita Roy. Her father was a Bengali lawyer trained in England, and her mother was British.[1] She attended the Loreto Convent in Darjeeling and St Paul’s School in London.[2] She trained as a violinist in England, but pursued dance as a career, with encouragement from Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, whom she met in London in 1927.[1][3] Her Kathak dance teachers included Pandit Sitaram Prasad and Achhan Maharaj.[4]

Career

Sokhey gave dance recitals in Bombay in 1928,[5][6] and began choreographing and teaching dance to students at the Haffkine Institute. She danced in Paris in 1930,[7] and her Menaka dance company toured Europe from 1935 to 1938.[8] They entered the Berlin Dance Olympiad,[9] in conjunction with the Summer Olympics in Berlin in 1936, and won several trophies.[10] She met modern dancer Mary Wigman during her time in Germany.[4][11] Her company and choreography appeared in at least two European films, the German-language Der Tiger von Eschnapur (1938) and a British documentary in color, Temples of India (1938).

In 1941, with her husband's financial support,[12] Menaka opened a residential school outside Bombay in Khandala,[13] named Nrityalayam.[14][15] One of her students was her adopted daughter, dancer Damayanti Joshi,[16] who later published a book of photographs and memories of Menaka.[17]

Personal life

Leila Roy married Sahib Singh Sokhey, a biochemist.[18] Their large home at the Haffkine Institute in Parel included her dance studio and was frequently host to visiting scientists and artists.[12][14][19] "Imperious, unconventional, sympathetic, big-hearted, she charms all with her intelligence and understanding," wrote a contemporary. "Her artificialities of vivid make-up and finery in dress are superficial and skin-deep, so to speak; she is, at heart, genuinely natural and simple."[20] Following her husband's knighthood in 1946, she became Lady Sokhey. She died from Bright's disease in 1947, aged 47 years.[21][22] The University of Mumbai awards a Menaka Trophy for excellence in Kathak dance.

References

  1. 1 2 "Culture: Giants Who Reawakened Indian Dance". Hinduism Today. 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  2. ↑ Kabadi Waman P. (1937). Indian Whos Who 1937-38. p. 743 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Khokar, Ashish Mohan (8 February 2011). "The Dance History Column: The role and contribution of pioneering gurus and foreigners in the revival of classical Indian dances (1900s-50s)". Narthaki. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  4. 1 2 Kothari, Sunil (2019-11-11). "The magnetic Madame Menaka and the Tiger of Hastinapur". The Asian Age. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  5. ↑ "Indian Art Revival: 'Menakas Programme at Excelsior". The Bombay Chronicle. 29 December 1928. p. 15. Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ Vakil, Kanaiyalal H. (February 1928). "Dancing in India: A New Era". The Modern Review: 689–692 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ "Foreign show News: Indian Dancers are 1 Too Many in Paris" Variety 100 (20) (Nov 26, 1930): 55. ProQuest
  8. ↑ "Indian Dancers' Triumphs Abroad; Menaka Troupe's Success in the Capitals of Europe". The Bombay Chronicle. 22 April 1938. Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ Khokar, Ashish (2018-05-31). "Menaka, Mrinalini and Maya, the dancing trendsetters". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  10. ↑ "Menaka at the Dance Olympiad". The Bombay Chronicle. 8 September 1936. p. 5. Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ Warren, Vincent (2006). "Yearning for the Spiritual Ideal: The Influence of India on Western Dance 1626-2003". Dance Research Journal. 38 (1/2): 97–114. doi:10.1017/S0149767700007403. ISSN 0149-7677. JSTOR 20444666. S2CID 193774298.
  12. 1 2 Palit, Maj Gen DK (2004). Musings & Memories: Vol (I). Lancer Publishers. p. 170. ISBN 978-81-7062-275-8.
  13. ↑ Swaminathan, Chitra (2018-05-17). "Madame Menaka choreography movement to highlight process of visualisation". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  14. 1 2 Ganapathi, K. "Sahib Singh Sokhey 1887–1971" Indian National Science Academy Biographical Memoirs: 148-149.
  15. ↑ Walker, Margaret E. (2016). India's Kathak dance in historical perspective. London: Routledge. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-315-58832-2. OCLC 952729440.
  16. ↑ "Damayanti Joshi". Sruti Magazine. 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  17. ↑ Joshi, Damayanti (1989). Madame Menaka. Sangeet Natak Akademi.
  18. ↑ "Sahib Singh Sokhey (1887-1971)". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  19. ↑ Shah, D. C. (May 17, 1933). "Interview with Menaka; True Art Must Transcend Technique". The Bombay Chronicle. p. 11. Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ↑ Venkatachalam, G. Dance In India. Bombay: Nalanda Publications. pp. 35–39, quote on p. 37 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ↑ Katrak, K. (2011-07-26). Contemporary Indian Dance: New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora. Springer. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-230-32180-9.
  22. ↑ "Menaka, the Pioneer". The Bombay Chronicle. 2 June 1947. p. 4. Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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