The iconic cultural personality of India, Dr. SONAL MANSINGH is internationally renowned as a Cultural educator, writer, scholar & thinker. She is the acknowledged Master of cultural interpretations and of explaining inter-linkages between philosophy, literature, sculpture and mythological parables and their impact on socio-cultural tapestry of India. A celebrated dancer, Sonal has been unique among dancers for her concern for issues of ecological imbalance, environment protection, empowerment of women and social justice specially for weaker sections of society which have led to creation of numerous path-breaking choreographies. She has performed, given lectures and conducted workshops in 90 countries of the world. Sonal’s ever vibrant creativity has given new dimensions to known repertories practiced in India. Natya-Katha is the ancient form of story-telling which Sonal has embellished with her own singing, narrative skills and abhinaya i.e. the art of expressive communication through hand-gestures, words and a face that reflects myriad emotions. As the Founder-President of Centre for Indian Classical Dances (1977) she has trained several thousand talented performers who are carrying the message of Indian culture all over the world. She is nominated by the President of India to Rajya Sabha, India's Upper House of Parliament in July 2018 in recognition of her life-long dedication and service to strengthening and spreading India’s rich cultural traditions. She is nominated as one of the NAVARATNAs for Swachha Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2014 in which capacity she continues to evolve various schemes to spread the message. Her significant contribution to Indian culture has been recognized with numerous awards and honours notably: ∙Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Award (Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi) (2018) ∙The high civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan (2003) from the President of India ∙Padma Bhushan (1992) from the President of India ∙Kalidas Samman (2008) ∙Kameshwari (2008) ∙Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987) Honorary Doctorates: ∙Doctor of Sciences (Honoris Causa) from G.B. Pant University, Uttarakhand ∙D.Litt Honoris Causa from Sambalpur University, Odisha ∙D.Litt Honoris Causa from KIIT University, Odisha ∙D.Litt Honoris Causa from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, Bengal. She has served as Chairperson of National Sangeet Natak Akademi. She is serving second term as Trustee of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. In recognition of her scholarship and continuing work in socio-cultural field she has been invited as Visiting Professor at the distinguished Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kharagpur (Bengal). Recently she has been nominated to the Society of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Her life has inspired a leading Indian filmmaker Prakash Jha to make a documentary on her work as Dance-Guru-Choreographer-Thinker, SONAL was released in 2002 which won National Award for non-fiction film. She has also inspired a biography ‘Devapriya’ in Hindi by Yatindra Mishra (2010) & ‘SONAL MANSINGH: A Life Like No Other’ in English by Sujata Prasad (2017). She has written 2 books: Incredible India – Classical Dances of India, describing the eight (8) dance forms emanating from the 1500 year old compendium text ‘Bharata NatyaShastrta’. Some of her many articles have been published recently in the book ‘A ZigZag Mind’. Sonal speaks several Indian languages. Her training in classical Indian music (vocal) systems both from South and North as well as the intricacies of the indigenous music system of Odisha adds rare depth and dimension to her work. Her experience and knowledge of global dance and music scene is another important factor in moulding a nobler and inclusive vision of performing arts as instruments for fostering harmonious co-existence as embodied in the ancient Indian adage: वसुधैव कुटुम्ब्कम i.e. World is One Family.