Dr Sohini Ray receives Tagore National Scholarship
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 10 2026: Eminent Manipuri dancer and scholar Dr Sohini Ray has received the coveted Tagore National Scholarship from Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

According to a statement, she is the third person to receive this scholarship in the entire field of Manipuri arts, and the second Manipuri dancer.

Notably, the Tagore National Fellowship/Scholarship is among the highest honours in the field of cultural research in the country.

The first person to receive the Tagore Fellowship/Scholarship in Manipur was Guru Ranjit Adhikarimayum, retired Principal of Govindji Nartanalaya, renowned film maker and critic Bobby Wahengbam was the second.

While Dr Ray and Dr AC Kharingpam.

who specializes in Tangkhul poetry, are the third.

Dr Ray is reportedly the first woman to receive this honour in the field of Manipuri arts.

The internationally renowned master artiste of Manipuri dance was spotted by her guru, the legendary Guru Bipin Singh as a child prodigy at the age of seven.

She was the first student in her dance school Manipuri Nartanalaya, Kolkata to learn and perform Manipuri drumming at the age of ten, performed with the Jhaveri sisters since the age of thirteen and received the highly competitive National Cultural Talent scholarship, Government of India at the age of fourteen.

In her early twenties, she received the 'Shringar Mani' award from Sur Shringar Samsad, Mumbai, first prize in Manipuri dance in the State Youth festival of West Bengal Rajya Sangeet Academy, Kolkata.

Dr Ray completed her post graduate diploma in Manipuri dance receiving "Nartan Acharya" from Manipuri Nartanalaya, Kolkata in 1999 while her guru was still living.

Today, Dr Ray has her own institute Manipuri Dance Visions based in Los Angeles, USA along with its performing unit the Manipuri dance Visions Ensemble.

She has received numerous grants and awards including the prestigious Lester Horton Award (dance equivalent to the Grammy award in music) in 2008 for her production "Gita Govinda" .

Her multimedia production "Bhaktirasgi Mangai Khonjel: Sounds and Lights of Devotion" combining rare archival footage on dance rituals in Manipur and live concert dancing was short-listed for the prestigious Margaret Mead award given by the Society of Applied Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, USA.

She was the first Manipuri dancer to receive the prestigious Devdasi National Award from Odisha Nrutya Kala Mandir, Odisha, India in 2013 .

Dr Ray received her Ph.D.in anthropology from University of California, Los Angeles specializing on the cultural history of Meitei mayek.

She was a pioneer who incorporated Manipuri dance in the syllabus of dance departments of New York University and University of California, Los Angeles where she taught studio (practical) courses in Manipuri dance for the first time.

Despite her international commitments, Dr Ray has remained close to her roots in Manipur, tarting March 2004, she was appointed "senior guru" in Radha Madhab Cultural Institution, Imphal, where she has been teaching on-line and also in person in Imphal.

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