Dance of freedom

“It’s been a long journey and an eventful one at that,” smiles Khanam as she wipes the sweat after a mesmerising performance at Delhi Public School,Sector 40,as part of the ongoing SPICMACAY and ICCR Heritage 2011. The love affair with Kathak began when she was only five and Khanam describes a performance she saw then as a fairy tale.

That was just a beginning. What her family thought was a hobby was ‘sadhna’ for Khanam. She was forbidden to dance,her feet tied up and when she would dance,she had to tie a cloth over her ghungroos so that there would be no sound.

“I was told to hide the tabla and other instruments from guests and not do riyaaz and give up dancing as they wanted me to get married,” Khanam goes back in time,recalling how she would wear a naquab and was also the first girl in the family to graduate from college. Nothing and no one could stop the ‘junoon’ and Khanam went on to learn from none other than Birju Maharaj.

“I lost my father early in life. I would take tuitions to pay my fees and support my family. My mother was my anchor,” more than 25 years later Khanam tells you to follow your heart,choose what makes you happy in the longer run and understand what you want and don’t. Taking art beyond the stage,Khanam’s dance production Black and White is a movement that voices concerns about the status of Indian Muslim women in society.

“The personal law systems gives them no rights. The divorce laws are outdated and there is no security for them or their children after divorce which can be done through an SMS,” she pointed out.

Khanam works closely with physically challenged artistes,helping them to sing and dance even on their wheelchairs. “My art is a commitment to God,society,myself. It should make everyone happy,” Khanam’s ghungroos will continue the story.