I don’t understand the word ‘spiritual,’ as I don’t understand the word ‘politician,’ says classical dancer Sonal Mansingh

This October, illustrious classical dancer Sonal Mansingh will be conferred the Srimanta Sankardeva Award for 2023 in recognition of her “immense contributions to promoting and preserving Indian cultural heritage through her remarkable work in Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance forms,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently announced.

The other day, she performed Natya Katha: Krishna to a packed audience in New Delhi for the “40th time,” receiving a long-standing ovation. Already honoured with both Padma awards and a former Member of Rajya Sabha nominated by President Ram Nath Kovind, she was also felicitated by him for her exceptional contribution to Indian arts and culture at the show.

However, little is known about the octogenarian’s gruelling personal journey and quandaries. A tête-à-tête with her unravels multiple layers. Her self-restraint is evident in how she never interrupts you while you are talking. She fondly and respectfully addresses you as ‘Ma.’ She weaves her examples poetically with Sanskrit shlokas from the Gita and Rumi’s couplets.

O’ that kid!

She isn’t just a tough master. You can peek into the tiny-tot within her, who laughs vigorously while recounting her mischievous self with the cheerfulness of a child about to play a prank. Ask if she was naughty as a child, and she quips that she still is! She delights in telling you how she still marvels like a child at the splendour of nature — the cotton-soft clouds, the colourful beetle bugs, the first shower’s trinkets, and the soft murmuring wind whizzing past her. “I still wonder, looking at a tree, thinking how beautiful it is; how its branches are entwined and create a stunning design; a dewdrop on the grass sparkles like a diamond…”

Watch her lost in such repartee with no time limits to adhere to. Wake her up to reality, and she proves she has won the battle of life, no mean feat, as you hear her story — one worth making a film on!

Born to dance

Sonal was born straightforward and self-driven. She knew what she wanted from life. Gliding down memory lane, she shares, “I was absolutely straightforward. If I liked dance, I liked dance. Initially, we had teachers, and I got my gurus later. But I was so passionate about dance that after school, before my teachers would arrive, I would freshen up, drink milk, dress up, and be ready.” However, before her music teacher arrived, “I would make excuses like, ‘Today I have a stomach ache; something is wrong with my ear,’ and so on,” she laughs heartily, adding, “I learned music too, but dancing excited me to a great extent.”

Breaking point

Sonal used to do Manipuri dance as a child. At seven, she started training in Bharatanatyam. But as long as it was considered her hobby, her family was fine with it. As she reached her teens, her parents asked her what she would do after graduation and advised her to go to Germany, do her post-graduation, prepare for civil services, and marry like her sister, as many proposals were on the anvil. But, after rejecting all those suggestions, “I declared, Main dance karoon cchhun! I was just 18-and-a-half. Those four words tumbled out of my mouth, and that was the breaking point! I was told, ‘That is not done in our society. It is not allowed.’ But I persisted. There was total silence. No one spoke to me for two days. So, on the third day, I picked up my bag and left for Bangalore,” to her gurus Professor US Krishnarao and Chandrabhaga Devi’s home. “I stayed with my guru and guru patni as was the culture in those days.” Her guru sent a telegram to her home back in (then) Bombay, informing them that she was safe and with them!

“Our schedule was very tight. From early morning till late evening, we used to rehearse and go to perform in small towns and villages. I was living a dream life there.”

Summoned!

Sonal has always been known for being straightforward. At 10, her grandfather Mangaldas Pakwasa (erstwhile Governor of Bombay and Mysore) once called her and warned, “Sonal, your face is like a mirror. So whatever you want to express is stamped on your face. Be careful,” she laughs, then adds with concern, “But what to do? I could never learn how to hide (my emotions/reactions). Till date, I can’t do it.”

But at times, on significant occasions, she had to restrict herself. “Then, I would just react with nods, hums, and ‘yeah-yeah,’ but my face would still reveal everything,” she bursts out laughing, adding, “Now, I wouldn’t know how to go back and make up for it! I still don’t know ke baat ko gol-mol kaise karoon.” Her sheepish, playful, child-like laughter reveals how much she intrinsically enjoyed those awkward moments that defined her real self! Such moments were many. Madhu Limaye (Secretary-General – Socialist Leader of Janata Dal 1978) once nudged Kuldeep Nayyar (Former MP/Editor Indian Express), “Be alert when you speak to her. Sambhal ke bolo. Sonal bohut muhphat hain, suna dengi (Be careful; Sonal is very straightforward, she’ll say it to your face),” he grinned warmly at her.

The occasion was “that infamous insidious meeting at Mavlankar Hall about my going for Vivekananda Centenary Celebrations in the US in 1993 to perform. I did not know it was a Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s program. I thought, ‘Why wouldn’t I go?’ Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Anup Jalota, and Anuradha Paudwal were all going. Shatrughan Sinha was going as an emcee. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had insisted I go. He said, ‘Aapko jana hi padega.’”

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 “Nayyar had complained to Madhu jee about my going. In Mavlankar Hall (Delhi), Nayyar was the chair. Organisations like SAHMAT, people from CPI, CPM, Swami Agnivesh, and Kaifi Azmi had all gathered, and I was literally summoned there. Swami Agnivesh asked me why I was going. ‘Agar Hitler bulata to aap jati kya?’ he asked. I replied, ‘I am going as a performer, and I perform for everyone.’ I said as much,” she laughs heartily. However, “I was labelled a Sanghi and bhagwa then and there, while I didn’t even know anyone from the Sangh. I had also performed for SAHMAT when it started on Safdar Hashmi Road and in Aligarh post-curfew (for brotherhood). What about that?”

Delhi’s declining spaces

Mention Delhi, and Sonal raises the issue of capital’ infrastructure for dance performances. “Where is Delhi’s infrastructure for performances? Siri Fort’s maintenance is bad. Where are the auditoriums for proper performances, except Kamani? There is India Habitat Centre and India International Centre, but their auditoriums are for seminars and conferences, not for proper performances. Earlier, there were some wonderful auditoriums like Mavlankar Hall, Pyare Lal Bhawan, and a few more, but they are in such a dilapidated state. Who is running them? What’s happening to them? No one knows. While so many museums are being created, why not build a proper auditorium for performers in Delhi too?” she questions.

But the IGNCA (Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts), which was started by veteran art and dance author Kapila Vatsyayan in the name of the former Prime Minister during the tenure of Narasimha Rao, was a wonderful venue. However, it went through several court cases during UPA. Now, it is the only amazing venue for performing arts and other programs. “I must say, the NDA has done a great service by recreating it. I wish the government and private parties would repair the old auditoriums, as the new venue, Bharat Mandapam, is too expensive to afford.”

(The writer is a senior journalist, poet, co-author of ‘Muslims in Media’ and art and music curator)