Once upon a time there was a child who simply loved to dance. She often pestered her mom to dress her up as a dancer and her mom always obliged. And then her practice sessions would begin. With so many varied expressions to pose for the camera, it wasn't an easy task....*sigh!*
And very often Faiyaz, her younger brother, also used to dress up and join her. And even though he was a lousy dancer and not an expert like his sister, she humoured him along. After all he was only a year younger to her and very much a dear...:-}
But that was on home grounds. Imagine her surprise, when one day her mom introduced her to an audience in the Ganjam Kala Parishad to give a live stage performance!!
This chance was probably given, not so much for the classical footwork as such but only for the Bharath Natyam costume and the confidence that the child possessed. And also maybe because of the fact that her Daddy was the President there...:-}
And just when she entered her teens, she became a star!!
No, no, no......not the celeb kind of a thing but just one of the twenty six stars (notice the head gear) that danced along like extras in the background. The moon (the heroine of their school play) was Subbalaxmi Hota.
Oh! How the 'star' envied the 'moon' :-{
And finally, dame Luck smiled on the girl. And when she was in College, along with her sister Nilofer, she learnt Odissi under the guidance of Mr. Satyabadi. And this time the sisters did manage to give some real stage performances. And no wonder of wonders, the duo even won some trophies :-}
Now all she had to do was patiently wait for the call- from either Bolly or Holly. Actually, any 'wood' would do ;-}
That was the story of a rising star in the making.
Unfortunately, before the call from any of the woods came, the star had found her partner.
She now had to choose between the woods and the trees. She chose the tree- the family tree.
Obviously herstory of fame and glory became history!
But she didn't give up. Instead she did the next best thing. After dancing for nearly a decade, she decided to finally give her husband a chance.
And now folks, he is the lucky one who dances- to her tunes.........;-}