At the tender age of five, a young curious girl, encouraged by her parents, stepped on a dance floor for the first time. It was love at first foot-step. That little pitter-patter opened up a world of joy and ecstasy for the young girl that she had not fathomed… She never left that floor.

“I started learning dance at the tender age of five years. From those early years, I was in awe of dance. It was an immensely enjoyable as well as a liberating medium for me. After years of training, in 1980/81 I ventured into the world of serious dancing. And my guiding light was the world renowned Odissi exponent, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Once I finished my preliminary ‘shikshya’, I became a teacher of Odissi dance, as was the wish of my Guru. Alongside, I continued my solo performances, performing at many prestigious platforms, nationally and internationally.

When I started learning dance as a child, various dance forms such as Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Manipuri were practiced in Bengal. In those days and times, we learned dance only to feel the joy around it. There was no hustle to reach the top nor was there cut-throat competition to over-throw fellow dancers and rush ahead. What we had was a healthy environment where all of us challenged each other only to hone our skills. We were a community that loved and respected the art and the artists.

Today, I see a change has come over, not just in Odissi dance, but also in other dance forms. The beautiful form of the Indian classical dance is now being corrupted with unhealthy competition to secure the highest spot, to bag the biggest awards, to grab the most sponsorship. In a race to be novel, choreographers are focussing more on the body, on the mechanical side of the art. Classical Indian dance is a fine balance between strength and agility, and subtle and profound feelings. The dance forms are characterised by illumination of the inner self, which is why it is said that Indian classical dance forms can help unlock the spiritual self, and touch divinity. Unfortunately, in today’s time, we are losing the sweetness and the purity involved of the art, driven by the constant need to be the best, to be in the limelight. I and many dancers of my time, are truly heartbroken at this. Through Gurukul I intend to bring back the joy that art is supposed to elicit.

It has been a long journey for me, as a student, as a solo performer, as a choreographer, as a teacher. I continue to create choreographies both pure and experimental, alongside teaching the form, and I will continue to implant the love of art into young minds and hearts. After all, divinity resides in art.”