Guyanese linguist Indranie Shah-Lennartson, half of the famous Indranie and Nadira Shah dance troupe died on Wednesday night in Sweden following a brief illness, her sister Dr Seeta Shah-Roath, Director of the Guyana Learning Channel said yesterday.
She was 50.
Dr Shah-Roath told Stabroek News that at the time of her death her sister was reading for a doctorate in Linguistics at Umea University, Sweden where she had earlier earned her Masters in the same field.
Indranie according to her sister was the founding member of the Nadira & Indranie Shah Dance Troupe. The Troupe had been performing annually for 33 years at the May 5 Indian Arrival Day activities.
She last visited Guyana in January for her father’s funeral. An article written about Indranie by Dr. Shah-Roath which first appeared in the Examiner in 2009 stated that the former speaks Swedish fluently and has studied multiple languages including French, Spanish and Hindi.
It was noted that Indranie represented Guyana at Carifesta 1981 in Barbados and the World Trade Fairs – Expo 1998 in Portugal and Expo 2000 in Germany. Her Swedish group performance of a Rajasthani folk dance for Queen Sylvia of Sweden at the Conference “New in Sweden” held in Umea, are among her international performances.
The article stated that one of her fondest memories is a performance with India’s famous Pt. Charan Girdhar Chand, in a little town far away from the bright city lights of India, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
She was an experienced Kathak dancer who first learnt the art at the age of 11 while a student of Shri Pratab Pawar at the Indian Cultural Centre in Guyana. She gave her first performance at the Deepavali Jalsa in 1975.
She received certificates of excellence at the Guyana Festival of Arts, 1977 and 1980. The numerous performances for the Indian Cultural Centre and the Guyana Department of Culture, heralded the advent of the Nrityageet dance production, the article said adding that Indranie and her sister Nadira founded the Nadira and Indranie Shah Dance troupe and produced Nrityageet 1.
At the time the article was penned the troupe has produced 30 annual dance productions, received several Guyana and Barbados theatre awards for best dance productions, best costumes, and best sets; Guyana’s national award – The Medal of Service for “Sustained and Outstanding Contribution to the Cultural Mosaic of Guyana”; and the New York Folk Festival Award for “Long and Sustained Dance Productions of Excellence.”
In 1984, Indranie was awarded an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship to further her studies in Dance in New Delhi, India. She attended the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra from April 1985 to December 1987. She was fortunate to have the young and innovative Vasvati Misra as her teacher and mentor, the article stated.
Folowing her marriage in 1988 to Andres Lennartson, Indranie continued to promote her cultural heritage through performing, teaching, workshops and cultural exhibitions showcasing Guyana and its diverse culture in Sweden and in other parts of the world as she pursued her studies in linguistics.
Indranie is a St Rose’s High old girl and a former resident of Gordon Street Kitty. She is survived by two adult children Ida and Johan.
