Interview - Uma Dogra: Dancing is my first love - Vijay Shankar

Kathak exponent Uma Dogra has established the Sam Ved Society for Performing Arts with the intention of promoting classical arts by organizing two major festivals every year, for the last twenty four years. Uma Dogra talks about her career that spans more than four decades and her role as a teacher, performer and impresario.
Could you tell us about your family background?
Hailing from a classically inclined artistic family, the ardour for Indian classical music came very naturally to me. My father being a well renowned sitarist, he had a lot of friends from the art field.  Our home would resound with the notes of the melodious sitar or the mellifluous vocals of Pt. Amarnathji – a renowned vocalist of our times – or for that matter the lofty beats of the tabla by Pt. Chaturlalji. Growing up with such enchanting vibes and atmosphere, the initial seeds for an artiste was laid within me. My first love was the sitar. I’d be mesmerized watching my father practicing or teaching his students. The only desire that I had then was to hold my father’s sitar some day and play music which would make him proud.  

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