Rajee Narayan
Rajee Narayan (19 August 1931 – 25 September 2020) was a Bharatanatyam dancer, musician and composer living in Mumbai, India. She was a rare combination of guru, musician, composer and choreographer, with the unique distinction of teaching not only Bharatanatyam, but also Carnatic Music, Natyasastra and Nattuvangam. She established her institution, Nritya Geethanjali in Mumbai in 1965.
Rajee Narayan
MokshaVRao · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Rajee Narayan
- Born
- 19 August 1931
- Birthplace
- Madras, British Raj
- Died
- 25 September 2020
- Place of death
- Gurgaon, New Delhi, India
- Occupation
- * Bharatanatyam dance guru
- Known for
- Bharatanatyam
- Awards
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Tagore Akademi Puraskar Sangeetha Sikshamani Swar Sadhna Ratna M.
- Nationality
- India
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Documentary summary
Rajee Narayan (19 August 1931 – 25 September 2020) was a Bharatanatyam dancer, musician and composer living in Mumbai, India. She was a rare combination of guru, musician, composer and choreographer, with the unique distinction of teaching not only Bharatanatyam, but also Carnatic Music, Natyasastra and Nattuvangam. She established her institution, Nritya Geethanjali in Mumbai in 1965.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q7285922 · wikipedia · Rajee Narayan
In this article
Biography
Biography
She has served as board member of the University of Mumbai, for over two decades and as the external examiner for the Bachelor's and master's degrees in the Fine Arts courses (Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts) and examiner of thesis for Ph.D.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Rajee Narayan • Born — 19 August 1931 • Birthplace — Madras, British Raj • Died — 25 September 2020 • Place of death — Gurgaon, New Delhi, India • Occupation — * Bharatanatyam dance guru • choreographer • composer • musician • Known for — Bharatanatyam • Children — 1 • Website — http: www.rajeenarayan.com • Awards — Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Tagore Akademi Puraskar Sangeetha Sikshamani Swar Sadhna Ratna M. S. Subbulakshmi Award
Formative years
Formative years
Rajee Narayan was born on 19 August 1931 in Chennai, the 11th child of S. Narayana Iyer and Gangammal. Rajee started to learn Bharatanatyam at age 5, from her elder sister, Neela Balasubramaniam, founder-director, Nataraja Natya Niketan and K. Lalitha, founder-director, Sri Saraswathi Gana Nilayam. At the age of four, Narayan commercially recorded the composition, 'Neraminchakura' (Shankarabharanam raga – Ikana tala). She also released records on story-telling songs for children and some plays. At that early age, she had started acting and singing her own songs in the movies that her father produced. She participated in the dance-dramas and Kollata Jothrai festivals, conducted by Kadappai Lakshmiammal, through her sabha, Indumadar Lakshmi Vilasa Sabha, run specially for ladies.
Identity
Identity
Rajee Narayan is recorded with the occupation composer. Recorded as dancer and composer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1931
Rajee Narayan was born on 1 January 1931.
2020
Rajee Narayan died on 25 September 2020.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Chennai.
Birth place
Gurgaon.
Death place
Compositions
Narayan has composed over 200 songs for bharatanatyam and has published some of them in her book Nritya Geetamala (2 volumes). She has also released a book on the basics of carnatic music called Sangeeta Shastra Mala. She is also the author of Natya shastra mala, a book explaining the basics of natya shastram.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Rajee Narayan”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7285922: Rajee Narayan
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.The Hindu Official Website. The Hindu.
- 2.Sangeet Natak Official Website. Sangeet Natak.
- 3.Rajee Narayan Official Website. Rajee Narayan.
- 4.Rajee Narayan Official Website. Rajee Narayan.
- 5.Rajee Narayan Official Website. Rajee Narayan.
- 6.Rajee Narayan Official Website. Rajee Narayan.
- 7.Rajee Narayan Official Website. Rajee Narayan.
- 8.Rajee Narayan Official Website. Rajee Narayan. July 2025.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Citizenship
1- IndiaPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
43,311 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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