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In a world that thrives on artifice and pretentiousness, she stands apart, almost as an anachronism. Shimla-based kathak dancer Iela Pandey, humility personified, steadfastly refuses to trump up her achievements. Even though she has been a member of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Audition Committee of AIR, Shimla, and the Academy of Art Culture and Languages, HP, and has been feted with awards like the Kala Samman and had the privilege of solo performances before the late Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad. Yet, she would rather talk about the beauty of kathak and the way it has changed her life. In fact, the versatile woman, who has dedicated her entire life to teaching kathak and is known in Shimla as Guru maa, doesn’t even call herself a guru. "Only a teacher`85 good or bad you decide for yourself," she says with characteristic modesty. Interestingly, lessons in "self-depreciation" began early in life when she was a disciple of Shankar Dev Jha "Natraj" of the Jaipur gharana. Recalls she, "When others would gush over my performance, my guru would not even offer one word of praise. I would often wonder — will Guruji ever appreciate me?" What rankled her then, today she feels has been the most significant lesson of her life. "An artiste can never be complete or perfect." So, even at the ripe age of 65, having taught three generations of dancers, having spent over four decades teaching dance at Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidalya, Shimla, she wants to learn more about kathak, the dance form in which her training began at age five. After learning the finer nuances of kathak of the Jaipur gharana, she trained under maestro Pandit Chaubey Maharaj at Mumbai. From him she not only imbibed the nazakat of the Lucknow gharana and intricacies of the Benares gharana but also the mantra of life — "Don’t be jealous of others, get inspired instead." Even today, she seeks inspiration from kathak doyen Pt Birju Maharaj, whom, of course, she rates a complete dancer next to 108 kala sampooran Lord Krishna. She says, "Every single posture of the gifted kathak dancer is a revelation from which one can learn so much." Besides, she draws lessons from his assertion, "Take the best of every gharana." Expectedly, she doesn’t believe in the demarcation between varied gharanas but swears by the tayyari of veer ras pradhan Jaipur gharana of kathak. She quips, "Its parans and pirouettes`85 all are matchless". And the rhythmic footwork, she insists, has no parallel in the world. That’s why she fails to understand dancers who dance sans ghungroos for "ghungroos are our biggest weapon." Of course, she is not against experimentation per se. Rather, for her students at Thirkan Nrityashaala, Shimla, which she set up in 2008, she creates choreographies in which she juxtaposes not only varied classical dance forms (she has learnt Bharatnatyam, too, and can play not only the tabla with effortless ease but also salsa with kathak). Says she, "We must understand that times have changed and we must flow with it. Gone are the days when an artiste could mesmerise viewers with just one gesture of "ghungat hatana" for one hour. Today, no one has the time to spend hours at a stretch for watching a kathak recital" And patience, too, she feels is waning both among viewers and disciples. "The young generation of students want to achieve success and fame overnight." Besides, she is not impressed by pushy parents who want to teach their little ones much against the wishes of the learners. To such parents, her advice is — let them follow their heart. Just as she has. Unmindful of material gratification, she derives satisfaction from teaching her students selflessly, gratis at that. "Kathak or, for that matter, our classical arts are not meant to be commercialised." Thus, far away from the winds of commercialisation, in the serene environs of Shimla, she sits content and busy, teaching aspirants who she hopes will follow in her footsteps. And spread the fragrance of her muse far and wide.
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