Dona Ganguly (née Roy; born 22 August 1976) is an Indian Odissi dancer.[1][2] She took her dancing lessons from guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She has a dance troupe Diksha Manjari. In 1997 she eloped with and married her childhood friend and later Indian cricketer and skipper Sourav Ganguly, 35th president of Board of Control for Cricket in India.[3][4] The couple has a daughter Sana (born 2001).

Dona Ganguly
Ganguly in 2024
Born
Dona Roy

(1976-08-22) 22 August 1976 (age 48)
OccupationOdissi dancer
OrganizationDiksha Manjari
Spouse
(m. 1997)
Children1
Parents
  • Sanjeev Roy
  • Swapna Roy
Websitewww.donaganguly.com

Personal life

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Dona Ganguly was born on 22 August 1976 in an affluent business family in Behala, Kolkata. Her parents were Sanjeev Roy (father) and Swapna Roy (mother). She was a student of Loreto Convent School.[1]

She eloped with her childhood friend Sourav Ganguly because their families were sworn enemies at that time. Later their families accepted the marriage and a formal wedding took place in February 1997.[5][6] The couple have a daughter Sana Ganguly.[1]

On 5 October 2022, she was infected with mosquito-borne disease Chikungunya and was admitted to Woodlands Hospital, Kolkata.

Dancing career

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Dona Ganguly started learning dance from Amala Shankar when she was only 3 years old. Later she shifted to Odissi under the guidance of Guru Giridhari Nayek. Dona considers the most significant development took place when she met Kelucharan Mohapatra and started taking dancing lessons from him. At early stage of her career, in different programs, Mohapatra accompanied her many times with Pakhavaj.[7]

Performances

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  • Dover Lane Music Conference, Kolkata
  • Konarak Festival, Konarak
  • River Festival, Kolkata
  • Uday Shankar Dance Festival, Kolkata
  • Barak Utsov, Silchar, Assam
  • Dakshin Mukambi National Festival, Kottayam, Kerala
  • Baba Alauddin Khan Sangeet Samaraho (Maihar), M.P.
  • Bali Yatra Cuttack
  • Kumar Utsov, Bhubaneswar
  • Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal
  • Haridas Samaraho, Brindavhan
  • Samudra Maha Utsov, Puri
  • Beach Festival, Digha
  • Haldia Utsov, Haldia
  • Sankat Mochan Festival Varanasi
  • Ganga Maha Utsov, Varanasi
  • Antiquity Festival, Kolkata
  • Muktashwar Festival, Bhubaneswar
  • Mirtunjay Utsov, Varanasi
  • Bhojpur Festival, Bhopal
  • Kalidas Samoraho, Ujjain
  • Taj Mohotsav, Agra
  • World Expo, China, 2010
  • Chaitrakut Mohotsav, Chitrakut
  • Narmada Mohotsav, Jabalpur

Diksha Manjari

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Dona Ganguly has a dance school named Diksha Manjari.[8] This institution was inaugurated by Lata Mangeshkar. It has capacity of more than 2000 students. Other than dancing, this institution has other departments like Yoga, Drawing, Karate and Swimming.[9]

In October 2012, Dona Ganguly choreographed Rabindranath Tagore's Shapmochan which she called a sombre dance drama.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Ode to Odissi". The Tribune. 10 July 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Danseuse Dona Ganguly and troupe pays tribute to Tagore". The Times of India. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Sourav Ganguly to be formally elected as CAB President on 15 October". Firstpost. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  4. ^ "I'm proud to be Sourav's wife: Dona Ganguly". Times of India. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Saurav and Donna happy at last". Times of India. 29 May 2001. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Top five Indian cricket weddings". The Times of India. 5 July 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Dona Ganguly career". Dona Ganguly website. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Dance drama Chitrangada in city". Telegraph, Calcutta. 11 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Disha Manjari website". Dona Gangul website. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Classical dance is eternal: Dona Ganguly". Times of India. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
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