Like mother,like daughter

The Shambhavi Vaze name itself evokes grace and fluidity. Its something to do with Kathak itself – one can imagine all its exponents to be epitomes of delicate demeanour. Vaze grew up under the kind tutelage of her mother Maneesha Sathe,a name renowned in the dance world as the harbinger of fusion into the traditional form. To this day,mother and daughter reside in Pune and share ideas,suggestions and responsibilities. “The relationship has manifold textures to it. It has been a very interesting journey with her. I was never pushed into doing anything,the focus was always on what I was interested in,and what made me happy. I would accompany my mother to many concerts,and was a regular at classes. Our equation took on a different aspect when I decided to become a professional. That’s when my mother became my guru. With her as my teacher,I got a true feel of the guru-shishya parampara. Whether we were lost in riyaaz at 7:30 in the morning,or deep in discussions at 11:30 at night,it was like living the best of both the worlds,” smiles Vaze. Even while shadowing her mother,Vaze reveled and blossomed independently. The credit is given to the genuine spirit with which Sathe chooses to live her life. “It has been so long that I can’t even remember when we started performing duets. She started sharing the stage with me as Baal Krishna and then grew to be my dance partner. I also seek her opinion before starting anything new. She is my friend,my most honest critique and my most trustworthy cushion to fall back on. I am not ashamed to admit that I am dependent on her,” Sathe confesses. The audience that is held in thrall and driven to piteous tears whenever they see this chemistry play out on stage,would agree whole-heartedly.

The sports world is a tough one. There is no time to stand and catch a breath,as someone will surely zoom past ahead. It must help,then,to have a motherly hand pushing you to achieve and win. For national-level player Shireen Limaye,her basketball coach mother is the center of her ambitious universe. “On court,my mother turns into a strict coach enforcing hard discipline,which works for me. I am here today because of her and my family,” says Shireen,currently in New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games. Suvarna Limaye has the a voice that is a mix of firmness and kindness. “I know that this personal and professional mix is a complicated thing to pull off. But it wasn’t very difficult. Shireen is down-to-earth,focused and very mature. I guess I tried harder to be impartial because I had other kids to coach and couldn’t set a bad example,” says Limaye senior. Shireen is quite glad that nothing much apart from sports (read: academics!) was strongly enforced on her. So,this close sporty pair must share something beyond the court commitment too,right? “Oh,we dance together often,” chuckles Suvarna. Dynastic realities have shone unabashed under the arc lights of the Indian film industry. But,it’s often a mistake to brand the scions of having it easy. The stepping stone comes on a platter,but there is no crutch to amble along the cobbled streets. Scriptwriter Sandhya Gokhale has never believed in conventional mothering methods. So even when her daughter Samiha decided to take a professional detour into law,she came around unfazed and with support placards ready. “Samiha often pitches in as the fourth assistant in films. Of course she thinks she gets the rawest possible deal,” laughs Gokhale. The choice Samiha made,in Gokhale’s words,was a somersault of sorts,but she is happy with the choice as her daughter’s personality fits the role perfectly. “For Amol (Palekar) and me,the objective has always been that our kids do well in whatever they take up. She continues to work with us; for example,adding subtitles is her forte and she takes pride in doing it. She is very mature and I always want her analytical feedback on every script I write,” says Gokhale. The articulate Samiha is coy and level-headed about her cinematic forays. “With mom,discussions range from world politics to filmy stuff. I get to know her side,and she welcomes mine too. There is no opinion I cannot voice. I am not into the film profession yet,and I am still studying law so it will take a fine balancing act to pull off both the jobs. But,I will always be right here and always be involved. It’s my dream to make at least one film in my life,” laughs Samiha.