17 October,2026 01:07 PM IST | Mumbai | Rumani Gabhare
A dated photo of Shraddha Nagarkar and Shakuntala Nagarkar
It is often said that the greatest thing for an artiste is that their work lives on after they pass away, leaving a mark long after they are gone. For veteran Lavani exponent and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Shakuntala Nagarkar (1960 - 2026), this holds true. Fondly called âShakutai', over the course of years, she shaped the lives of her students and fellow artistes or as her daughter Shraddha Nagarkar says, "For her Lavani was second nature to her, it almost came naturally."
For Shraddha, her mother's influence became clear when Nagarkar received the President's Award in 2009. "Ever since I was a child, I knew my mother was a performer, but I only felt the intensity of it when she received the award. When she came back home, our house was swamped by her students, people who had performed alongside her and fellow artistes. That's when I realised the aura of the woman who birthed me," she recalls.
Her mother's guiding principle, Shraddha says, was that "Art and discipline will always work together. You enjoy what you're doing, and success will follow".
Her niece Pornima Nagarkar, who learnt paramparik Sangeet Bari from her aatya (father's sister), remembers Shakutai as a demanding teacher. "My aatya was a performer, but very few people know her as a guru. To say that she was strict would be an understatement. A few rounds of rehearsal were never enough. You practise and keep at it till you get the best version of the step," she says.
Pornima recalls her aunt's famous dialogue: "Lavani hi vyavasthit ani paramparik asaila pahije," (Translated from Marathi: Lavani must be performed with discipline and in keeping with tradition)
For Akshay Malvankar, meeting Nagarkar as a judge on the reality show Dholkichya Talavar in 2016 marked the beginning of an informal guru-shishya relationship. She introduced him to Sangeet Bari, emphasising punctuality and precision.
Recalling a rehearsal in 2017-18, Malvankar says, "I had to do a lot of fouettés in a sequence, and Shakutai told me that no matter how big the stage was, I had to maintain that level of precision. Even after trying for hours, it seemed impossible. That's when I felt a bamboo stick on my feet, and magically all the precision followed in one go." Their journey came full circle in 2023, when they performed at the Baltic House Theatre Festival in St Petersburg, Russia. Nagarkar told him, "I see the same expressions and passion for Lavani in Akshay, as I did in myself some time ago."
Actor and artiste Sambhaji Sasane, who rehearsed with Nagarkar for Love and Lavani, remembers her advice. "Love, zeal, passion, jealousy and the hunger for an artiste is something that keeps them active till the end," he says, recalling her message to those who wanted to keep the art alive.
Even while battling cancer, Nagarkar remained deeply devoted to her art as Shraddha recalls her mother's words from the time, "Even when I pass away, I'd love for it to happen when I'm performing."
