Shakuntala Nagarkar’s legacy lives on through her students and Maharashtra’s Lavani tradition

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 lsquoShakutairsquo over the course of years she shaped the lives of her students and fellow artistes or as her daughter Shraddha Nagarkar says ldquoFor her Lavani was second nature to her it almost came naturallyrdquoA moment from their performance in PuneFamilial bond of LavaniFor Shraddha her motherrsquos influence became clear when Nagarkar received the Presidentrsquos Award in 2009 ldquoEver 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 Thatrsquos when I realised the aura of the woman who birthed merdquo she recallsShakuntala Nagarkar interacts with the audience during a show Pics courtesyB Spot Productions Shraddha Nagarkar Pornima Nagarkar Akshay Malvankar Sambhaji SasaneHer motherrsquos guiding principle Shraddha says was that ldquoArt and discipline will always work together You enjoy what yoursquore doing and success will followrdquoHer niece PornimaNagarkar who learnt paramparik Sangeet Bari from her aatya fatherrsquos sister remembers Shakutai as a demanding teacher ldquoMy 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 steprdquo she saysShakuntala Nagarkar with Pornima Nagarkar after a performancePornima recalls her auntrsquos famous dialogue ldquoLavani hi vyavasthit ani paramparik asaila pahijerdquo Translated from Marathi Lavani must be performed with discipline and in keeping with traditionSambhaji Sasane Anita Date and Shakuntala Nagarkar during a rehearsalPrecision on and off stageFor Akshay Malvankar meeting Nagarkar as a judge on the reality show Dholkichya Talavar in 2016 marked the beginning of an informal gurushishya relationship She introduced him to Sangeet Bari emphasising punctuality and precisionAkshay Malvankar and Shakuntala NagarkarRecalling a rehearsal in 201718 Malvankar says ldquoI had to do a lot of fouetteacutes 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 Thatrsquos when I felt a bamboo stick on my feet and magically all the precision followed in one gordquo Their journey came full circle in 2023 when they performed at the Baltic House Theatre Festival in St Petersburg Russia Nagarkar told him ldquoI see the same expressions and passion for Lavani in Akshay as I did in myself some time agordquoActor and artiste Sambhaji Sasane who rehearsed with Nagarkar for Love and Lavani remembers her advice ldquoLove zeal passion jealousy and the hunger for an artiste is something that keeps them active till the endrdquo he says recalling her message to those who wanted to keep the art aliveEven while battling cancer Nagarkar remained deeply devoted to her art as Shraddha recalls her motherrsquos words from the time ldquoEven when I pass away Irsquod love for it to happen when Irsquom performingrdquo