Mangala Bhatt

Mangala Bhatt is a Kathak dance exponent. She is the senior disciple of Kathak maestro Pt. Durga Lal Ji of Jaipur Gharana. She has performed at many festivals in India. She is also the founding director of Aakruti Kathak Kendra. Mangala was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra and received her initial education in Kolhapur. She applied to the prestigious Kathak Kendra institute in New Delhi, India and got through on a national scholarship. At Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, Mangala initially trained under late Shri Kundanlal Gangani Ji and later took advanced training under the Kathak Maestro late Pandit Durga Lal Ji, from whom she absorbed his brilliant technique and mastered the dazzling cadence and subtle nuances of Kathak. Her work and sincere efforts received praise and took her to major productions choreographed by Guru Pt. Durga Lal Ji and Pt Birju Maharaj Ji. She also took guidance from Guru Smt Rohini Bhate Ji much later. Mangala's abhinaya has been particularly appreciated because of her nuanced expression and inherent precision. Her artistic and aesthetic elegance have received high applause from both critic and rasika alike. She has been hailed as a dancer with grip over laya, neatly able to construct the structure of Kathak. A brilliant exponent of the Kathak form, her galaxy of performances are numerous and fabulous in their scintillating variety. She is particularly known to combine Kathak with other distinct art forms such as jazz drums, flamenco, qawwali, ghazals, performance poetry, kalaripayatu, modern dance, ballet, painting among others. Mangala Bhatt is married to Kathak dancer and artist Raghav Raj Bhatt, whom she met while training at Kathak Kendra. Raghav Raj Bhatt is a prime disciple of Padma Bhushan Pt Birju Maharaj Ji. After their marriage, Mangala moved to Hyderabad, India to continue her work in Kathak. The dance duo is synonymous with Kathak. They bring together the confluence of two distinct styles of Kathak, representing Jaipur Gharana and Lucknow Gharana.