Living to Dance

Celebrated Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan is busy with a rehearsal for her performance at the upcoming LalitArpan Festival when I meet her in Delhi. I decide to simply watch and save my interview questions for later. However, she agrees to field my questions for the interview, at least most of them, during the break. That is Shovana for you––ever energetic, almost inexhaustibly so, and always ready to handle multiple tasks with ease and professionalism.

That inspires my first question. What is the secret of her work-personal life balancewith which she has accomplished so much? After all, Shovana is a renowned, multipleaward-winning classical dancer who performs regularly at well-known festivals including in India and abroad, dance-teacher, choreographer, curator of dance-festivals, researcher intoHindi and Sanskrit literature and Kathak villages, author of books and articles, a civil servant (a retired IAASofficer), visiting lecturer at universities, wife and mother. Shovana has been awarded Doctor of Literature degree (HC) besides her twoM.Phil degrees (Defence&StrategicStudies;andinSocialSciences). She has been recipient of thePadmashri Award in 1992, Sangeet NatakAkademiaward for 1999-2000 in 2001, Delhi Government’s Parishad Samman 1993 andthe Bihar Govt’s Rashtriya Samman Award for 2018-19 in 2001 besides another 65 awards like Japan’s OISCA Award, Bihar Gaurav Award, etc. Three films have been made on her: ‘Born to Dance’ by Beenu Rajpoot (2018) ‘Shovana’by AparnaSanyalforPSBT (2019),and“DasGeheimnisdesIndischesTanz”(German)byORF-ZDF (1987).

She laughs and replies to my question on work-life balance: “I don’t know if there is a secret. It is just that Iput my heart into everything I do and focus only on what I am doing at the moment.” Then, she adds that a childhood incident was the possible reason: “I think it was actually my mothers’ influence. I had been learning Kathak since I was three or four. I was around eight years old and studying hard, with my books spread out all round me, when my mother came in and asked what I was doing. I told her I was studying as I wanted to stand first in class. My mother who saw through me, as all mothers can (here, Shovana laughs again), and said: ‘Don’t do this dramaebaazi before me! Your eyes are on your books but your mind is elsewhere i.e. on dance! If you want to dance, go and do so. It is okay if you receive only pass marks in school-studies and scrape through. But don’t divide your attention like this’.” Shovana says that she followed this advice, topped her class, and earned her dance-teacher’s appreciation too. “Since then, I have always learnt to focus on one thing at a time and give it my all.”

Shovanasays she was blessed to have very good teachers who noticed her passion and groomed her with care. “It was all about where my father was posted. I never went guru-shopping!! I was fortunate to have the presence of good teachers at all those places.” Her first teacher, Sadhana Bose lived in Kolkata. She then learnt under Kundan Lal Sisodia in Mumbai were her father worked subsequently. Finally, she came under the tutelage of the legendary Birju Maharaj in Delhi where her father relocated to. “It was a great blessing to be taught by such an outstanding artiste and teacher like Birju Maharaj-jee. I am aware of what a privilege that was and deeply grateful for it. I cherish everything he taught me and try to live up to the legacy he imparted.”

Given her dedication, innate talent and hard work, Shovana began performing early in life and has given thousands of performances so far in India and around the world. “In places where they do not understand Indian languages also, the audiences connect and appreciate the dance. This is because they understand and connect with the Rasas of Indian classical dance which we give expression to.” After the initial years, like so many other established dancers, she wanted to pay back by giving other artistes the opportunity to perform. So, she began organising dance-festivals where dancers not only of Kathak but other genres participate. For the past several decades, she has been curating and organising three much-appreciated, annual festivals:LalitArpan;VividhMatFestival;andRhythmandJoy. She comments: “Actually, organising a festival is very challenging as it involves many logistics compared to individual dance performance.”Shovana is also founder of Asavari Society and Asavari Repertory, which she calls her “pet projects”.

Shovanahasalso beenthe conceptualiser,andchoreographerofseveral international events: the classical dance segment of Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Indian Independence;a production on BegumHazrat Mahal (freedom fighter),the Opening and Closing Ceremo nies of 6th InternationalAbilympics 2003; Ter-Centenary of Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa Panth; and in delivering theOpening and Closing Ceremonies of Commonwealth Games 2010 as Special DG.“My work with was especially abled students was especially satisfying and their passion was inspiring,” she reveals.

This Kathak exponent is also noted for blending the traditional vocabulary of Indian classical dance with modern sensibilities, and reacting with sensitivity to burning social issues in her dance-presentations and choroegraphy. Shovana has used her dance as a medium to create awareness of issues relating to the environment; womenandfemale children;humanrights;transgenders;acid-attackvictims; women’sroleinblueeconomy, etc. Her research and collaborations with artistes of other genres have focused on women saint-poets as well as national figures like Mahatma Gandhi and sages like Ramana Maharishi, Swami Vivekananda and so on. Her dance/dance-productions have showcased inter-faith dialogues with Buddhism and Sufism; the poetry of Omar Khayyam, Khalil Gibran and Rumi; and inter-culturaldialogueslike for eg., westernclassicalmusic(OttoFaeber,1981,MozartandVivaldi,1986; RavelandDebussy,1993; Schubert,1987);etc. She has performed severaldances‘jugalbandis’ like for eg. with Western Classical Ballet; Spanish Flamenco; and Tapdance; and a triadfeaturingKathak,SpanishFlamencoandWesternClassicalBallet;and so on. Shovana explains: “All these performances require indepth research and sensitive handling and that is part of my work-ethic.”

Also, this Kathak artiste is noted for her social consciousness. She feels that, as a civil servant and citizen, one needs to be aware of and respectful to those who gave their lives to the country. So, she has been deeply involved in homage/help programmes forKargilMartyrs, Pulwana Martyrs; TsunamiRelief,2005; BiharFloodRelief,2008.

Having won so many honours and encomiums, does she have any more big dreams? Shovana replies: “I am simply grateful for every opportunity that has come my way. I don’t want to talk in terms of any big dreams. I just want to go on dancing till my last breath. I want to die dancing! I want to have served dance till the very end!”