Eminent dancer Suryamukhi no more
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 29 2025: Eminent Manipuri classical dancer and recipient of Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi breathed her last at her residence in Keishampat Leimajam Leikai in the wee hours of June 29 .

She was 90 .

As she was unable to attend the award distribution ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, the Padma Shri Award was personally handed over to the illustrious luminary by Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh and Commissioner (Home) N Ashok Kumar yesterday evening.

Born on December 8, 1935, Thiyam Suryamukhi started her career as a child stage artist and started learning Manipuri dance from Guru Maisnam Amubi Singh.

During her lifetime, she travelled and performed in many places both within and outside the country.

She presented a classical solo dance in 1952 at the All India Music and Dance Conference sponsored by the Bharatiya Kala Kendra and further performed in Kolkata, Allahabad etc.

In 1954, as a member of the Manipuri troupe of the Indian Cultural Delegation, she visited the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Tashkent, Uzbek, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland etc.

During the visit, she performed the Manipuri dance at the iconic Bolshoi Theatre.

She also visited Shanghai in 1955 and Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and Hong Kong in 1956.In 1968, as a member of the Little Ballet Troupe, Gwalior, she participated in cultural programmes at the Mexico Olympics and toured the USA, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

After she joined the Ballet Unit of the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance Akademi, one of the ballets "Keibul Lamjao" participated in the 5th London International Festival of Theatre and bagged five merit awards.

Most notably, she established the Research Centre for Manipuri Performing Arts in 1984 and imparted training to many young artistes in the field of classical Manipuri solo dance.

She also composed many solo items - Basanta Varnan, Sakhi Ukti, Yasoda, Dooti Sambad etc.

Some of her notable awards include the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2003); Manipur State Kala Akademi Award (1985); Guru Tarunkumar Sanman (2009) and she was also honoured with the "Nritya Ratna" (classical) title by the Manipur Sahitya Parishad in 2015.Her demise marks the end of a remarkable era in Manipuri dance.

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