NEW DELHI, Sept 16 - Scholar, author and connoisseur of the arts Kapila Vatsyayan died at her Delhi home on Wednesday. She was 92. �She passed away at 9 am today at her home in Gulmohar Enclave, Kanwal Ali, secretary of the India International Centre where she was a lifetime trustee, told PTI.
Vatsyayan, who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2011, was the founding director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. A former nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, she was also chairperson of the Asia Project at the IIC.
The renowned scholar of art history, architecture and Indian classical dance was born in New Delhi in 1928 and did her masters in English Literature from Delhi University and in Education from the University of Michigan in the US. She was the younger sister of poet and critic Keshav Malik. Vatsyayan authored nearly 20 books on different forms of art and their histories in her long career.
Some of her notable works include The Square and the Circle of Indian Arts (1997), Bharata: The Natya Sastra (2006), Dance in Indian Painting (2004), Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts (2007), and Transmissions and Transformations: Learning Through the Arts in Asia (2011).
Remembering her as a institution builder and a true scholar, several personalities from the world of arts and culture took to Twitter and Facebook to express their condolences.
The final rites were held at the Lodhi Cremation Ground on Wednesday afternoon. � PTI
Staff Reporter adds: The State today mourned the death of Kapila Vatsyayan.
Vatsyayan collaborated with Dr Maheswar Neog, the versatile scholar from Assam, who specialized in the cultural history of the North East, for the Gita Govinda in the Assam School of Painting.
Also, she was the general editor of Kalamulasastra Series 3 (Srihastamuktavali). Dr Vatsyayan also wrote the general introduction of Maheswar Neog (1915-1995): A Centenary Volume.
The legendary dance scholar was also a great friend and well wisher of Assam whose support towards propagating and carrying forward the campaign for national recognition to Sattriya dance, music, art and culture will always be fondly remembered.
