Ranchi, Oct. 7: Gargi Malkani, a Class IX student of Delhi Public School, Ranchi, has been awarded a national scholarship in kathak by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), an autonomous body under the Union ministry of culture and tourism.

Gargi is the only student from Jharkhand to have received the scholarship this year.

Fourteen-year old Gargi is the daughter of theatre-person Ajay Malkani and kathak danseuse Manju Malkani.

?The award makes me feel good,? says Gargi, who has spent five years learning kathak at Dharitiri, a school run by her mother.

The CCRT had conducted an interview-cum-performance test in Ranchi in June this year, where Gargi?s skill impressed them.

Father Ajay Malkani said Gargi will be required to submit a report to CCRT after a year-and-a-half.

?Dance is my passion and I would like to become a full-time professional in the field. My mother, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Sitara Devi and Pandit Munna Lal Shukla have been and are my inspirations,? she said.

?I hope that one day I could become someone like Sitara Devi, though that is a huge ask,? the budding dancer said.

?I will try my best to live up to the expectations of my parents, selectors and well-wishers,? she said. Gargi will get Rs 400 every month till she is 20 years old.

The CCRT gives scholarship to talented children in the age group of 10-14 years or those with a penchant for music, classical dance, folk music and dances, paintings or sculpture.