Once upon a time, it was natural for children to follow their parents into their profession. But today, when children are given the choice to choose their own professions and often choose to do something ‘modern’ in their careers, it’s interesting to hear from youngsters who have followed their parents’ footsteps in an ancient classical tradition. In a conversation with Kuchipudi Guru Raja Reddy and his daughters Yamini and Bhavana Reddy, I was impressed by how both the girls have adapted their modern upbringing to further the Kuchipudi tradition. Below are excerpts from a chat conducted during the Reddys’ Parampara Dance Festival in Delhi recently.
Raja-ji, how did you think you could initiate both your daughters into this tradition? What was the pressure as a parent?
Raja Reddy: Being in the Reddy family, we were not supposed to learn dance. But since childhood, I was very interested. Same goes for Radha – we married, and her parents and my parents were not happy about it but we were mad about dance. Then we came to Hyderabad and both Radha’s parents and grandparents told her, “Get a divorce from him, he is sure to end up penniless!” See, in our region, dance was dismissed as a profession for the lower classes. They (those who looked down upon dance) didn’t even know that Shiva is the creator of dance. Without Radha, my dance would have been incomplete. Nobody would have seen my performance; it was possible only because Radha was there to handle things.
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