There is no age
limit to do what you love, all barriers seem unrealistic when you are focused
towards your passion. This lovely women is an epitome of loving her passion and converting her passion
into profession. With managing her family and dance academy she does her bit
for the society by teaching classical dance to physically challenged students. She is busy all 7 days a week either teaching or doing shows.Let’s Talk Life with classical dancer Uma Tilak, where she talks about her
journey as a classical dancer , her
dance academy Kalaniketan , her family and her immense love for dance.
- Kindly tell us something about yourself ?
I started
learning Bharatanatyam at the age of 3 as my mothers aspired one of her
daughter’s to learn dance it was not possible for her to send my elder sister
so she took me to Guru Saudamini Rao . As a kid I was very small and thin and
so my teacher refused to teach me, but my mother was very strong and insisted
her to teach and I started learning under her guidance. I performed first time
on the stage at the age of 9 it was my First performance ie. ‘Arangetram’ I
performed 3 hours solo (Bharatanataym) on the stage. My parents worked very
hard along with me for the success of the show there used to be very few people
who used to achieve something in this field. At that show time Guru Sucheta
Joshi witnessed my Arangetram and she told
my mother that Uma will be a Golden feather in my cap so send her to me and I
will give her further lessons in dance. I
joined her for four more years and simultaneously was giving performances for different
organisations. I performed for ‘Doordarshan’
television in Mumbai Chennai and Hyderabad.
Then I started learning with Guru Shri Mani from Kalasadan in Mumbai I was with Kalasadan for nearly 12 to 13 years and then started my classes in 1984 in Poona. I am science graduate, dance graduate and also a Examiner of Akhil bharatiya gandharva Mahavidyalaya and Tilak Maharashtra vidyapeeth.
My
daughter is also Visharad in dance, she is MTech in biotechnology and now in
Germany for her Masters in plant sciences course , she performed for Marathi Katta,
organization in Frankfurt. My son Suyash is doing very well in his career.
I am a proud mother of my children whenever they are here they help me in my work , they work back stage and
also on stage as a member of my institution.
I always
pray God to give me strength till the end of my life to dance.I fall on the feet of lord Nataraja and my gurus everyday to bless me.
- What made you choose this career?
It was
a difficult task for me to continue dance me after marriage , hats off to
my husband a civil engineer by profession who supported me consistently. My
children are also very supportive. My immense love for dance and support from
family made me choose dance as a career.
- Tell us about your journey as a classical dancer till now?
After I started
classes it was very much difficult to get students for classical dance, I
started teaching in one school only for INR10 on a monthly basis to make
people understand what Bharatanatyam is.I didn't take any break in my career even
after my marriage. It is very much difficult to achieve something in
classical field, each and every day we face some or the other problems but I
always believe in God and hard work. I strongly believe we can come out of any problems only because of this belief
and do or die approach
- Talk about your dance school, Kalaniketan?
I am
running my institute named Kalaniketan in Aundh, Pune with the grace of God’s and
blessing of my gurus. We have an examination centre of Abgmv and Tmv . About 50
and above students completed their Visharad in dance and 300 students have done
their Arangetram under my guidance Two of my students completed MA and some are in Kalakshetra for their master diploma.We at Kalaniketan teach
physically challenged students. It gives me immense satisfaction.We teach all
Natyashastra Shlokas demonstration. My students after completing their
Visharad come to me to learn how to teach the dance. Two of my students have started their own dance classes.
- Your take on the present generation's inclination towards classical dance?
Now days
students want fast food, they want immediate results which is not possible in
classical dance. Classical dance is devotion ,dedication and regularity. Classical dance teaches all these qualities which helps you in your life in any field.
- In one word describe Dance for you?
Dance is my breath.
- Perks of choosing your career?
It is the happiness and satisfaction that we get from dance
- Challenges that you faced in your career?
My child
was only 10 days old and no one was there to replace me to teach in the
class and there was a show lined up as well, I told my husband that I will teach and perform and till date I
have not taken a gap.
- What was your 'Nothing is Impossible moment'?
My daughter,
me and two of my students had a performance in Chidambaram temple. At that time
I was suffering from a very bad leg injury and my daughter was down with measles,it was impossible to perform but we decided to give our best as we knew that our God
is there behind us, we performed and got all the applause.
- How many years does it take for one to be a professional in this field?
It takes
nearly 12 years to be a classical dancer, dance is like an ocean, you just have to flow
with it, understand it, know it’s depth and not think of the end. Dance is an
ongoing process.
- Lastly what advice would you give to the aspiring classical dancers who want to make their mark in the field?
I will only say
that keep practicing, believe in your hard work and regularity.You never know when things might just click, don't wait for the opportunity to come, if you have faith
in your hard work and devotion you will get a good opportunity. Keep on working with honesty.
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great ....
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