Her Anklet Still Tinkles

Wrapped in a bright red sari,Sitara Devi rolls her kohl-rimmed eyes and admires her make-up in the mirror.

Wrapped in a bright red sari,Sitara Devi rolls her kohl-rimmed eyes and admires her make-up in the mirror. She is 92,but the doyenne of Kathak refuses to play the part. Stereotypes have never been her thing,actually. In the Capital to receive the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award,she settles down to talk,her words punctuated by animated gestures that look like mudras,and dregs memories of an early 20th century Benaras.

A small home in conservative Kabir Chauraya lane used to tremble with the sound of ghunghroos unleashed by eight-year-old Dhanno. But when neighbours began to whisper and some confronted her father Sukhdev Maharaj,Apni beti se mujra karvayega kya?,he was forced to leave the street and move to an obscure little place where his girl could dance,undisturbed. Sukhdev,an expert in Sanskrit texts,including the Natyashastra,and a Kathak dancer,did not understand why girls from good families should not dance. Dhanno began to perform at his Radha Krishna Nritya Mandali and became known by the suitably grand stage name Sitara Devi and,at the age of 16,was called the Nritya Samragini (Empress of Dance) by Rabindranath Tagore,who was impressed with Sukhdevs attempt at reforming Kathak. Gurujis giving the title is the most beautiful moment of my life, reminisces Sitara Devi.

An artist with Bombays Sagar Studios,she was part of dance sequences in the films Allehlal,Nagina and Roti,but soon got back to Kathak and was taught by Shambhu Maharaj and Bindadin Maharaj. Those days,men used to dress up as girls,and they did the tandav ang of dance. When I joined,I brought the nazakat of the Lucknow gharana and the intricate rhythmic structures of the Banaras gharana to develop my own style, says Sitara Devi,who also taught Madhubala,Mala Sinha and even Kajol. Madhubala did a great job with her training. Kajol learnt for some years but went back to her films, she says.

In 2002,Sitara Devi refused the Padma Bhushan,saying nothing short of the Bharat Ratna would do. She still defends it,Ive worshipped my art,survived years of intense struggle and achieved remarkable success. If I did not deserve it,I would not have uttered a word.

These days she is doing what she loves best teach girls at her home in Andheri. She wakes up at 4 in the morning to recite compositions to her students on the phone. My head is so full of masala. I am just constantly composing, she laughs. Every day begins with her dressing up for her art. The first thing I do is put on my make-up. I am so used to being on the stage, she confesses with a dancers ada. She still performs with her daughter and granddaughter. I have been dancing for 85 years and this is all I know. But unlike her contemporaries who are pleased with the next generation,Sitara Devi hits a discordant note: I dont see much of a future for Kathak. I hate fusion. My art will die with me. Birju Maharaj will continue for some years. But that is it.

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