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A day after the coveted Padma awards were announced, controversy erupted with renowned danseuse Sitara Devi refusing to accept the Padma Bhushan.
"It is an insult, not an honour," the septuagenarian exponent of Kathak told the Press Trust of India in Mumbai on Republic Day. "I will not accept any award less than Bharat Ratna."
"Little-known people who are younger than me have received Padma Vibhushan and I am being awarded Padma Bhushan," she said. "Is this the way to treat a leading artiste?"
Sitara Devi, who took to dance at the age of seven under the tutelage of her illustrious father Sukhdev Maharaj, was described as 'Kathak queen' at the age of 16 by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. She said that pat from the Nobel laureate was "the highest award in my dancing career".
"Four generations of our family have devoted their lives for the sake of this art and helped Kathak attain prestige in society," she said, recounting how her father was treated like an outcaste for promoting Kathak, which till then was not acknowledged by most people as a form of art.
"Is this government not aware of my contribution to Kathak?" said the danseuse who had enthralled audiences for hours at a stretch in her prime.
"Getting an award is nothing new for me," said Sitara, who still trains dancers. "I have been honoured with 'Nritya Nipuna' by President R Venkataraman, Kalidas Samman and Padma Shri."
Firmly ruling out any change of heart on the matter, she remarked, "Nothing short of Bharat Ratna will do now."
Sitara Devi said she was not jealous of others getting the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, but certainly expected better for herself.
PTI
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