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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Honour for cancer survivor

Odissi exponent Shubhada Varadkar gets Akademi award Mumbai: Renowned Odissi virtuoso, Shubhada Varadkar has been honoured with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award – the country’s highest honour in performing arts – as an acknowledgement of her artistic excellence and a tribute to her passion for dancing. Unlike many others, Varadkar plunged into dancing relatively late - after completing her Matriculation from the Chembur High School, honouring the family’s traditions of “education...

Honour for cancer survivor

Odissi exponent Shubhada Varadkar gets Akademi award Mumbai: Renowned Odissi virtuoso, Shubhada Varadkar has been honoured with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award – the country’s highest honour in performing arts – as an acknowledgement of her artistic excellence and a tribute to her passion for dancing. Unlike many others, Varadkar plunged into dancing relatively late - after completing her Matriculation from the Chembur High School, honouring the family’s traditions of “education first, everything else later”. The Varadkars were deeply committed to academics and public service, traits that passed down the generations. Her father Manohar Varadkar, was a freedom fighter who later worked at BARC Chembur in the administration department, while her mother Manik participated in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. “I spent nearly 10 years learning Bharata Natyam under Guru Shree Mani and later did my ‘arangetram’ performance after completing my graduation from Ruia College,” said Varadkar, 65, at her Borivali home. Somewhere down the line, the multi-faceted personality – she played inter-university for the Mumbai University cricket team, then became a lecturer in Economics at her alma mater, she also worked as a news anchor for Doordarshan (1987-1994) – changed her dancing tracks. Varadkar had a chance encounter with the legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, she discussed and learnt a lot about Odissi. She finally decided to embrace the classical dance form, giving her best to the art, trained to conquer all with her dazzling and dedicated performances. Over the decades, her performances have enchanted audiences with her lyrical movements, expressive story-telling and a deep emotional connect, both in India and on the global stage, over the past four decades. Today, she is regarded as one of the most illustrious ambassadors of Odissi dance outside its native state, Odisha. “I started with Bharat Natyam initially. Then I switched to Odissi… I felt I could explore a lot more through Odissi and it has brought me immense satisfaction and honours in my journey of performing arts,” Varadkar smiled in a chat with ‘The Perfect Voice’. She admits that for the love of dancing, she had to gradually give up all her other passions of cricket, teaching, television with Odissi becoming her ‘fulltime passion and devotion’. When she was soaring the heights of glory, during a performance in London in 2006, she was detected with ovarian cancer and had to cut short her tour to rush back home. The gritty Varadkar underwent the full treatment protocols, but again after nearly 20-years in 2025, cancer returned in a different location in the body, the lungs – shocking the medicos. In 2013, Varadkar penned down the long and inspiring struggle in her autobiography in Marathi, “Mayurpankh”, and following immense public response, she translated it into English as “The Celestial Plume” (2019). Sanskrita Foundation for arts & sports Around the time she was detected with cancer, in 2006, Shubhada Varadkar launched the ‘Sanskrita Foundation’. “We train students both in dancing and sports, especially those hailing from underprivileged backgrounds. We have multiple training centers for the youngsters for dancing and sports.” Nurturing her flock of students, Sanskrita Foundation regularly organises classes, cultural festivals to promote classical arts and sporting events for the talented ones who lack resources or avenues to showcase their potential.

Omar welcomes Indus Water Treaty suspension, calls it “most unfair document” for J&K



SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday welcomed the Central government’s decision to suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 lives. He also referred to the treaty as the “most unfair document” for the people of J&K.


“The Government of India has taken some steps. As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, let’s be honest. We have never been in favour of the Indus Waters Treaty. We have always believed it to be the most unfair document to people of J&K,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar after meeting representatives from the tourism, trade, and industry sectors. However, he noted that the long-term impact of this move is still uncertain.


The IWT suspension is part of India’s response to the brutal attack. Other actions include expelling Pakistani military attaches and shutting down the Attari land-transit point immediately.


When questioned about the impact of the April 22 attack on the region’s tourism industry, Abdullah dismissed concerns about monetary losses. “At this juncture, we are not counting rupees or paisa. Not one of the businessmen or stakeholders in the tourism industry who attended the meeting lamented the loss of business. Not one of them expressed any concern about what would happen to them.”


“Right now, our priority is to express solidarity with the bereaved,” he said, adding, “At some point in future, we may sit down to discuss the financial implications (of the attack) on J&K’s economy. But not a single stakeholder present in the meeting raised a demand for monetary relief for the losses they are suffering.”


Omar described the tourist exodus from J&K after the massacre as “heartbreaking”. The future of the Valley’s tourism sector remains uncertain, with widespread trip cancellations following the attack.

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