Vithabai Bhau Mang Narayangaonkar Biography 
Vithabai Bhau Mang Narayangaonkar was a Tamasha artist from the city of Pandharpur, Solapur district, Maharashtra. She lived during the period, July 1935 – 15 January 2002. She is exposed to various forms of songs like Lavanya, Gavlan, Bhedik, etc, and excelled as a folk artist. This performing artist was called "Tamasha Samradini" (Tamasha Empress) by her fans, a name approved by state government later. Following her death Government of Maharashtra has instituted annual "Vithabai Narayangavkar Lifetime Achievement Award" in her memory in 2006, and this award is being given to performing artists annually. She was famous for her songs, dance and plays.
Vithabai Bhau Mang Narayangaonkar was born into a family of performing artists during British rule in India. She was born in Pandharpur of Maharashtra in the year 1935. Since young she got exposed to different forms of folk and performing arts. Many of her family members perform it traditionally as well. Her grandfather Narayan Khude set up a troupe called Bhau-Bapu Mang Narayangaonkar, which was later ran by her father and uncle, and she too become a part of it. She was not interested in academics, but had a good flair as an artist. She carried forward the family legacy, and created a niche of her own as a Tamasha artist of present times.
She didn’t receive any formal training. She grew up watching her family members performing on stage, and later she gave several effortless performances at a younger age. She also fought for the welfare of lavani artists throughout her lifetime, and secured their pension from state government. She passed away on 15 January 2002 aged 74. Her personal life was not was so great, and she faced a lot of domestic violence from her husband who exploited her a lot. He used to book shows for her even while she was pregnant, and he also had three more wives. Once he booked a show when she was 9 months pregnant with her third child, and she delivered a boy on the back stage. She continued with her performance after the delivery, which she conducted herself.
Published: March 01, 2019
Updated: March 01, 2019
