Protima is from the Sanskrit pratimā (प्रतिमा — image, statue). A modern American baby name in the broader Sanskrit heritage aesthetic. Protima Bedi (Protima Gupta, 1948-1998) was an Indian model and classical Odissi dancer — and founder of Nrityagram (1990), India's first modern dance commune for classical dance, located outside Bangalore. Trained under Odissi guru Pandit Kelucharan Mohapatra, considered one of the greatest figures of 20th-century Odissi. Earlier modeling career included a controversial 1974 nude streak on Juhu Beach (Bombay) that drew national attention. Founded Nrityagram as a residential gurukula on 10 acres designed by architect Gerard da Cunha — training a generation of Odissi dancers including her successor Surupa Sen. Disappeared in a landslide during her Kailash Manasarovar pilgrimage (Himalayas, August 18, 1998) at age 49. Subject of the memoir Timepass: The Memoirs of Protima Bedi (2000), edited by her daughter Pooja Bedi. Mother of actor Pooja Bedi and Pondicherry monk Siddharth Bedi; former wife of actor Kabir Bedi.
Featured throughout Indian classical dance heritage.
Protima reduces to seven.