Liberal childhood gave me courage to question everything: Kathak exponent Aditi Mangaldas

As far as my contemporary work based on Kathak is concerned I would say that it is like sowing a seed of Kathak and watering it with contemporary sensibilities, movement, literature, and thinking processes such as structure, stage design, and music, she responds poetically.

When Kathak veteran Aditi Mangaldas takes to stage, moments stretch into minutes as she goes from one movement to another in her inimitable dance style, moulding a centuries old dance vocabulary into something more contemporary.

For the renowned Kathak dancer, this courage to dance her own dance and question everything comes from a liberal childhood in a family with no dance background.

“One must have the courage to dance one's dance and have the courage to face uncomfortable issues. I believe my liberal childhood gave me the courage to question everything, not take anything for granted, and accept that nothing is carved in stone,” Mangaldas told PTI in an interview here. After training under legendary Kathak dancers like Pandit Birju Maharaj and Kumudini Lakhia, Mangaldas is known to have developed her own dance style, something that floats in the space between Indian classical and contemporary forms, creating a dance palette that gives birth to a unique canvas of movements and sensibilities.

However, she refrains from calling it a dance language that she has created.

“...But I do say that most of my work falls within the parameters of either classical Kathak or secondly, what I term as ‘contemporary dance based on Kathak’... ''As far as my ‘contemporary work based on Kathak’ is concerned I would say that it is like sowing a seed of Kathak and watering it with contemporary sensibilities, movement, literature, and thinking processes such as structure, stage design, and music,” she responds poetically. The dance that comes out of this unique mix of sensibilities, movements and music is akin to a tree “that grows out of that Kathak seed, reaches another part of the sky even though the roots are very much of Kathak”.

Coming from a family of academicians on one side and business persons on the other, how did dance happen to her? “At a very young age, my parents felt that they saw something artistic in me and enrolled me in different artistic schools. Since, I was enrolled in dance, and music as well as fine arts classes. They also put me in the community science centre! Everything, by and by, fell off and dance remained to be my life partner!” the 62-year-old dancer said.

Even though she doesn’t remember why she chose Kathak as her discipline, she believes it is a style that suits her personality the most.

“It is inclusive, it has dynamism and grace, and most importantly it has a structure that has an immense possibility for evolution and change,” she added.

A supporting family and tutelage of teachers of renown, but for Mangaldas it is the life itself that has been the biggest guru and has helped her “mould the dance she does”.

“...moulded the way I look at dance, has moulded how dance becomes a movement of my mind, my body, and my heart. My close family and my gurus have all influenced the way I look at dance but eventually, I don't want to be anybody's copy. ''I'd rather be a bad original than a copy and I would like to have the courage to step into the forest - into the unknown and discover new paths, new avenues, to share the stories that I want to share,” she said.

Mangaldas will be speaking at TEDxGateway’s ‘Breaking Barriers’ conference on November 18 at Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

The day-long conference will have candid conversations from speakers such as celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, actor Shefali Shah, NASA astrophysicist Jessie Christiansen, and author Seema Anand, among others.