Alain Daniélou

Alain Daniélou
Born	4 October 1907 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Died	27 January 1994 Lonay, Switzerland
Occupation	Indologist
Nationality	French
Subject	Culture of India
Partner
Relatives	Jean Daniélou

Alain Daniélou (4 October 1907 – 27 January 1994) was a French historian, intellectual, musicologist, Indologist, and a noted Western convert to and expert on Shaivite Hinduism.

In 1991, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship the highest honour conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

His mother, Madeleine Clamorgan, was from an old family of the Norman nobility; a fervent Catholic, she founded schools and a religious order, Order of Sainte-Marie, for women teachers in civilian costume under the patronage of St. François-Xavier. His father, Charles Daniélou, was an anticlerical Breton politician who held numerous national ministerial posts in the Third Republic. One of his brothers was Roman Catholic prelate and Académie française member, Jean Daniélou.

He received his education at the , Neuilly-sur-Seine, and at St. John's College, Annapolis. The young Daniélou studied singing under the famous Charles Panzéra, as well as classical dancing with Nicholas Legat (teacher of Vaslav Nijinsky), and composition with Max d'Ollone. Subsequently, he performed professionally on stage with dancers like and Marjorie Daw. Growing up he rebelled against his mother's deep devotion to her faith, but his father remained a positive influence, which helped in developing his musical talent and in coping with his homosexuality. He studied piano and singing, learning the songs of Duparc and Chausson and the Lieder of Schumann and Schubert. He started writing poems, as acquired proficiency in English and other European languages.

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