good afternoon it’s wonderful to be here
and I would like to congratulate Amity
school the principal that chairman and
as well as all the young students for
organizing this
we heard some lovely talks by our
speakers earlier and one thing with what
I was hearing them what came out was how
many of us have closed mindsets most of
us as we grow up do have closed mindsets
we start thinking that this is the way
it should be done or that should be done
how many of us think that it’s not the
dumb thing for a girl to light the fire
of her father well today at least people
have started women have broken barriers
they have started going to the cremation
ground but when we were growing up that
was also not the case and in November
1977 suddenly I hear in the news when I
was a youngster mid-20s that my father
has expired in a train accident I had to
I went all alone to the site of the
accident
identified the body got the post-mortem
done brought the body of my father to
Delhi and then went and did the
cremation the question was what was the
girl allowed to do it yes the pandas did
not say anything they just quietly in
1977 allowed me to cremate my father’s
body to do the last rites few days later
I was already booked to perform at the
mother of festival the issue was should
I sit at home and cry away because after
all we had my as he had to be taken to
Haridwar or do I go to her to Mathura
Festival and perform we chose the latter
my sister took the Asti to Haridwar
we are only two
so she did they took the Osito Haridwar
and I went to Mathura festival to
perform hardly two days had elapsed my
father was already dead he will die
tragically and yet here I was dancing on
stage because the show has to go on
inside I knew I was weeping but the
question was that I could not you know
sort of that was in a way dance will
helped me to release my pent-up emotions
this was a case when at that point of
time it was much later that when people
said I had you know it said it was not I
had done an unusual act but at that time
you did not think whether it was usual
or unusual you did it because one had
conviction and obviously we were only
two daughters and so it was the two of
us who would be doing performing the
last rites similarly during our growing
up period we were all conditioned to
think in certain ways that you can only
do take up this profession or that
profession or this job or that job and
here I was I was wanting to study here
and I was good at studies also I was
good at dance also and I and I took to
both the professions people said when
well that’s not done it’s just not done
the question was what is done and what
is not done it depends on each one’s
individual passion reactions as well as
interest and what life has taught me is
that whatever one does and the path one
chooses one has to be actually committed
to it sincere to what you believe in and
be honest about what you believe in and
do it with dedication and sincerity I
would also there was a life also all of
us and particularly the youngsters who
are tomorrow going to be tomorrow’s
citizens of the country will be faced
with many challenges challenges of what
has been taught and how you applied in
practice
life and I learnt it in a rather hard
way
it was earlier my guru was always there
conducting my programs and on one of my
first major solo performances as a young
professional where the Guru was not
there I had to do it on my own
and in Kotak you have to carry it on
your own you have to lead the musicians
and carry the entire there are no
prefixed items there are items but yeah
the onus is on the artist on the dancer
and one had heard that you know in when
you’re learning in during the learning
phases you hear about this is what
should be done and this is various and
this is that when I was in Shenmue con
and the whole of Bombay I’m using the
word Bombay because at that time it was
called Bombay in 1970-71 I I found that
after a certain time the audience got
restless the question was do what do I
do
either I would be hooted off the stage
or I would be there I had to prove
myself as a soloist there and there for
in a long time my heart was pumping it
was literally throbbing with fright and
I was about to make an exit when
something snapped within me I said
either
it’s this or that and I just took the
Barretts came back and then I was I went
into the first step when I started
performing and immediately I’d have the
audience in my hand it was a learning
experience about how you apply the same
things that you have learnt in practical
life according to situations with doubt
without compromising on the classic
ality as well as the artistry and those
are challenges which comes in everyone’s
life in whichever vocation we may be one
thing that our dance I think has really
taught me has made me think into what
the part would
it s all about has also taught me how to
take lessons and revisit on my colleges
and our scriptures and our texts because
there’s so much of wealth of information
which are as applicable and relevant
today as it was yesterday and it will be
relevant even tomorrow reminds me that
many people say that okay when you
attain a certain position etc there is a
little arrogance comes with it with a
little love a behavioral attitudes
change the way you speak changes
everything changes however it always
there’s one story from the Mahabharata
which has always you know sort of I
think I would love to narrate that story
to you because there is so much to learn
from it being game was absolutely he was
invincible
his strength this unparalleled strength
that he had but there was also the
knowledge that he was strong and so
India in the forest he was given the
task of guarding the forest while they
have other pandavas and his family slept
and then he was while he was patrolling
he sees a feeble monkey an old feeble
monkey standing on earth lying on the
path and he says just mix please go
the female monkey says I can’t I don’t
have the strength how can I go the and
of course sarcasm attitude the words
everything came into play with him did
not display the right temper and finally
he’s the monkey said okay then your left
might remove my tail if it’s coming in
your way being tried to remove the tail
and lo and behold him could not even
pick up the tail of that feeble monkey
much later he realized that it was
Hanuman himself the fact is that here is
that these kind of stories do
tell us the kind of wealth of
information about what should our
behavioral attitude me what how our what
should a speech me what your how should
we act in life and what kind of so the
judicious Ness in our actions another
thing which I always am grateful to the
world of classical dance is to be able
to give me that ability to at least look
into again arts texts when today you’re
most of us the youngsters are of course
the 21st century children we are the
20th century but will be parceling to be
a 21st century we’ll see our end when
but here again I would say that today
the kind of problems that has beset us
was something it’s nothing new it is not
new that today we are talking about
pollution of various kinds we when I
think of doing we’re talking of water
pollution day-in day-out we are reading
about water pollution everywhere
particularly in several parts of our
country we are talking about the fact
there would be water shortages the fact
that there would be a time where we
would be unable to even get drinking
water and in that context when I think
of our literature and I think of our
Kalia Mardan that way Kalia the snake
was he was a symbol of that water
pollution the poisonous the polluted
water and yet Krishna when I do ask my
students was Krishna killed or
subjugated so the whole it is that
Krishna subjugated kaalia kaalia was not
killed and since God so what was the
lesson that is learned that even the
under water are above water
every life has its own relevance and
but the question is but it should not
become overpowering everybody has to
coexist and go have it together but
everyone should know their limits so the
question is that Callias poisonous water
has to be limited and because he has a
function to play underwater whereas we
also have our function to play in seeing
that the water is not polluted but how
many of us do that where is that sense
of self responsibility that each one of
us is actually adhering to and talking
about it or practicing it ourselves
talking about many do but practicing it
ourselves that is important that
whatever we learn whatever we learn when
life we have to practice ourselves when
I talk about learning and the Guru
shishya parampara it reminds me that we
only think of the great names as to be
our gurus but I’m reminded of Mahatma
Gandhi one paragraph in his
autobiography many of us have read this
sort of biography and I would also like
to say that when his grandson
the great philosopher professor Nam
Chandra Gandhi who popularly known as
Rama Gandhi asked me whether I’d read
the autobiography I said of course I
have then he said who is wrong now now
the question was who is Rama for me as a
classical dancer done by that artist the
celestial dancer so he said no in fact
in my grandfather’s autobiography and
I’m sure many of you must be thinking
who is Rama in that autobiography of
this but there’s a small paragraph in
which I think holds a wealth of
information about what made Gandhi
Gandhi he says that when he was a child
of eight or nine years old or ten years
old he was very scared of snakes thieves
and ghosts and he did not know who to
confide his version so the greatest fear
is our own inner fear and so he finally
he said the only person if I tell my
rather they would learn laugh at me so
he confided that his fears in the
untouchable maid servant called rumba
and rumba told him why are you scared
get rid of your fears yeah it’s fire
self get strength and take the name of
wrong and since I started taking the
name of wrong
it has instilled me with confidence and
strength because I thought to myself how
can from can’t be wrong so I had more
faith in her and therefore that faith in
rumba has led me throughout life and
high rom has become a constant faith
factor in my life
so he said rumba is my guru here is
mahatma gandhi acknowledging and the
untouchable maidservant of his house as
his greatest guru who has given him the
mantra of life of how to get over the
inner fears the breaking the barrier you
have to get over your inner fears you
have to imbue yourself with strength and
confidence and in that say again no note
we are talking somebody just one of our
previous speakers talked about
discrimination about how we pocket put
people in pockets it reminded me of be
bacon and when I was doing a work on
Vivekananda was that when we bacon Angie
was that well I think it was at Maharaja
Catrice place he heard a not girl
singing and he said he is a Swami
how can he hear the not girl singing
that Prabhu Mary ever gonna Nakuru and
shall be maker and said well that when
we make energy was set up I think it was
at my logic IIITs place he heard not
girl singing and he said he is a Swami
how can he hear the logical singing and
finally it is that magical time that Rob
you may lay a begoña
knuckle and the big occurrences the law
reading of that so that the already of
the boys was so much that he said Who am
I to judge others by my standard because
everyone has that it’s Parker could
listen that everyone who am more than
certain position we do not know the
circumstances how they had gone into
birth position but the goodness that
element of goodness and Godhead is there
in everyone and he bowed his head to
that young singer in in devotion a down
appreciation finally I would like to end
it off that you enough let us visit this
is something the modern day the Shah
self again I’m going back to our sacred
texts we let us do this from being
modern-day assassins because what was
the shafts in doing
he was unrolling disrobing drop early
today you and I are doing the same we
are teaching little children to do the
same because we are removing the
clothing the of Mother Earth day in day
out every second and therefore I will
end it up with this the shuttle bus to
the shuttle bus corrode fatigue attain
heaven but kuru the shaman bastard take
a chain hadn’t but guru Pitka Code
Veronica Musa has but guru the shots and
bus routes
[Applause]
sensitivity humanity guru thank you
and I would like to congratulate Amity
school the principal that chairman and
as well as all the young students for
organizing this
we heard some lovely talks by our
speakers earlier and one thing with what
I was hearing them what came out was how
many of us have closed mindsets most of
us as we grow up do have closed mindsets
we start thinking that this is the way
it should be done or that should be done
how many of us think that it’s not the
dumb thing for a girl to light the fire
of her father well today at least people
have started women have broken barriers
they have started going to the cremation
ground but when we were growing up that
was also not the case and in November
1977 suddenly I hear in the news when I
was a youngster mid-20s that my father
has expired in a train accident I had to
I went all alone to the site of the
accident
identified the body got the post-mortem
done brought the body of my father to
Delhi and then went and did the
cremation the question was what was the
girl allowed to do it yes the pandas did
not say anything they just quietly in
1977 allowed me to cremate my father’s
body to do the last rites few days later
I was already booked to perform at the
mother of festival the issue was should
I sit at home and cry away because after
all we had my as he had to be taken to
Haridwar or do I go to her to Mathura
Festival and perform we chose the latter
my sister took the Asti to Haridwar
we are only two
so she did they took the Osito Haridwar
and I went to Mathura festival to
perform hardly two days had elapsed my
father was already dead he will die
tragically and yet here I was dancing on
stage because the show has to go on
inside I knew I was weeping but the
question was that I could not you know
sort of that was in a way dance will
helped me to release my pent-up emotions
this was a case when at that point of
time it was much later that when people
said I had you know it said it was not I
had done an unusual act but at that time
you did not think whether it was usual
or unusual you did it because one had
conviction and obviously we were only
two daughters and so it was the two of
us who would be doing performing the
last rites similarly during our growing
up period we were all conditioned to
think in certain ways that you can only
do take up this profession or that
profession or this job or that job and
here I was I was wanting to study here
and I was good at studies also I was
good at dance also and I and I took to
both the professions people said when
well that’s not done it’s just not done
the question was what is done and what
is not done it depends on each one’s
individual passion reactions as well as
interest and what life has taught me is
that whatever one does and the path one
chooses one has to be actually committed
to it sincere to what you believe in and
be honest about what you believe in and
do it with dedication and sincerity I
would also there was a life also all of
us and particularly the youngsters who
are tomorrow going to be tomorrow’s
citizens of the country will be faced
with many challenges challenges of what
has been taught and how you applied in
practice
life and I learnt it in a rather hard
way
it was earlier my guru was always there
conducting my programs and on one of my
first major solo performances as a young
professional where the Guru was not
there I had to do it on my own
and in Kotak you have to carry it on
your own you have to lead the musicians
and carry the entire there are no
prefixed items there are items but yeah
the onus is on the artist on the dancer
and one had heard that you know in when
you’re learning in during the learning
phases you hear about this is what
should be done and this is various and
this is that when I was in Shenmue con
and the whole of Bombay I’m using the
word Bombay because at that time it was
called Bombay in 1970-71 I I found that
after a certain time the audience got
restless the question was do what do I
do
either I would be hooted off the stage
or I would be there I had to prove
myself as a soloist there and there for
in a long time my heart was pumping it
was literally throbbing with fright and
I was about to make an exit when
something snapped within me I said
either
it’s this or that and I just took the
Barretts came back and then I was I went
into the first step when I started
performing and immediately I’d have the
audience in my hand it was a learning
experience about how you apply the same
things that you have learnt in practical
life according to situations with doubt
without compromising on the classic
ality as well as the artistry and those
are challenges which comes in everyone’s
life in whichever vocation we may be one
thing that our dance I think has really
taught me has made me think into what
the part would
it s all about has also taught me how to
take lessons and revisit on my colleges
and our scriptures and our texts because
there’s so much of wealth of information
which are as applicable and relevant
today as it was yesterday and it will be
relevant even tomorrow reminds me that
many people say that okay when you
attain a certain position etc there is a
little arrogance comes with it with a
little love a behavioral attitudes
change the way you speak changes
everything changes however it always
there’s one story from the Mahabharata
which has always you know sort of I
think I would love to narrate that story
to you because there is so much to learn
from it being game was absolutely he was
invincible
his strength this unparalleled strength
that he had but there was also the
knowledge that he was strong and so
India in the forest he was given the
task of guarding the forest while they
have other pandavas and his family slept
and then he was while he was patrolling
he sees a feeble monkey an old feeble
monkey standing on earth lying on the
path and he says just mix please go
the female monkey says I can’t I don’t
have the strength how can I go the and
of course sarcasm attitude the words
everything came into play with him did
not display the right temper and finally
he’s the monkey said okay then your left
might remove my tail if it’s coming in
your way being tried to remove the tail
and lo and behold him could not even
pick up the tail of that feeble monkey
much later he realized that it was
Hanuman himself the fact is that here is
that these kind of stories do
tell us the kind of wealth of
information about what should our
behavioral attitude me what how our what
should a speech me what your how should
we act in life and what kind of so the
judicious Ness in our actions another
thing which I always am grateful to the
world of classical dance is to be able
to give me that ability to at least look
into again arts texts when today you’re
most of us the youngsters are of course
the 21st century children we are the
20th century but will be parceling to be
a 21st century we’ll see our end when
but here again I would say that today
the kind of problems that has beset us
was something it’s nothing new it is not
new that today we are talking about
pollution of various kinds we when I
think of doing we’re talking of water
pollution day-in day-out we are reading
about water pollution everywhere
particularly in several parts of our
country we are talking about the fact
there would be water shortages the fact
that there would be a time where we
would be unable to even get drinking
water and in that context when I think
of our literature and I think of our
Kalia Mardan that way Kalia the snake
was he was a symbol of that water
pollution the poisonous the polluted
water and yet Krishna when I do ask my
students was Krishna killed or
subjugated so the whole it is that
Krishna subjugated kaalia kaalia was not
killed and since God so what was the
lesson that is learned that even the
under water are above water
every life has its own relevance and
but the question is but it should not
become overpowering everybody has to
coexist and go have it together but
everyone should know their limits so the
question is that Callias poisonous water
has to be limited and because he has a
function to play underwater whereas we
also have our function to play in seeing
that the water is not polluted but how
many of us do that where is that sense
of self responsibility that each one of
us is actually adhering to and talking
about it or practicing it ourselves
talking about many do but practicing it
ourselves that is important that
whatever we learn whatever we learn when
life we have to practice ourselves when
I talk about learning and the Guru
shishya parampara it reminds me that we
only think of the great names as to be
our gurus but I’m reminded of Mahatma
Gandhi one paragraph in his
autobiography many of us have read this
sort of biography and I would also like
to say that when his grandson
the great philosopher professor Nam
Chandra Gandhi who popularly known as
Rama Gandhi asked me whether I’d read
the autobiography I said of course I
have then he said who is wrong now now
the question was who is Rama for me as a
classical dancer done by that artist the
celestial dancer so he said no in fact
in my grandfather’s autobiography and
I’m sure many of you must be thinking
who is Rama in that autobiography of
this but there’s a small paragraph in
which I think holds a wealth of
information about what made Gandhi
Gandhi he says that when he was a child
of eight or nine years old or ten years
old he was very scared of snakes thieves
and ghosts and he did not know who to
confide his version so the greatest fear
is our own inner fear and so he finally
he said the only person if I tell my
rather they would learn laugh at me so
he confided that his fears in the
untouchable maid servant called rumba
and rumba told him why are you scared
get rid of your fears yeah it’s fire
self get strength and take the name of
wrong and since I started taking the
name of wrong
it has instilled me with confidence and
strength because I thought to myself how
can from can’t be wrong so I had more
faith in her and therefore that faith in
rumba has led me throughout life and
high rom has become a constant faith
factor in my life
so he said rumba is my guru here is
mahatma gandhi acknowledging and the
untouchable maidservant of his house as
his greatest guru who has given him the
mantra of life of how to get over the
inner fears the breaking the barrier you
have to get over your inner fears you
have to imbue yourself with strength and
confidence and in that say again no note
we are talking somebody just one of our
previous speakers talked about
discrimination about how we pocket put
people in pockets it reminded me of be
bacon and when I was doing a work on
Vivekananda was that when we bacon Angie
was that well I think it was at Maharaja
Catrice place he heard a not girl
singing and he said he is a Swami
how can he hear the not girl singing
that Prabhu Mary ever gonna Nakuru and
shall be maker and said well that when
we make energy was set up I think it was
at my logic IIITs place he heard not
girl singing and he said he is a Swami
how can he hear the logical singing and
finally it is that magical time that Rob
you may lay a begoña
knuckle and the big occurrences the law
reading of that so that the already of
the boys was so much that he said Who am
I to judge others by my standard because
everyone has that it’s Parker could
listen that everyone who am more than
certain position we do not know the
circumstances how they had gone into
birth position but the goodness that
element of goodness and Godhead is there
in everyone and he bowed his head to
that young singer in in devotion a down
appreciation finally I would like to end
it off that you enough let us visit this
is something the modern day the Shah
self again I’m going back to our sacred
texts we let us do this from being
modern-day assassins because what was
the shafts in doing
he was unrolling disrobing drop early
today you and I are doing the same we
are teaching little children to do the
same because we are removing the
clothing the of Mother Earth day in day
out every second and therefore I will
end it up with this the shuttle bus to
the shuttle bus corrode fatigue attain
heaven but kuru the shaman bastard take
a chain hadn’t but guru Pitka Code
Veronica Musa has but guru the shots and
bus routes
[Applause]
sensitivity humanity guru thank you
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