In between rehearsing for her dance pieces at Kala Mandir, Sreenanda had a quick chat with t2.

On her recent decision to take up dance in Calcutta though she is based in Mumbai:

At one point in my life, I wanted to get into acting. I was in Mumbai then. Though I have been dancing since I was five, I never took it that seriously until it dawned upon me, as I grew up, what treasure I have back home. I also lost interest in acting. So I decided that I wanted to take it up seriously now. Ma never pushed me to get into dance. Rather she waited for me to realise it on my own. I am married and based in Mumbai now. My husband [Gev Satarawalla] is very supportive.

On her grandmother Amala Shankar:

My grandmother is very supportive. She is 94 and she is very honest about her views. If she appreciates me, I get the confidence to go on.

On the troupe:

I have grown up amid a lot of dance. For me, backstage has been home since childhood. I enjoy being in the troupe. We share a great bonding and it’s like family. All the members are extremely talented and they have been trained by my mother for a long time.

My daughter is very confident and knows exactly what she wants to do. But she is also very nervous. It is a very Shankar trait. Everyone in their family is a bit nervous. Even after being on stage 2,000 times they will get cold feet just before entering the stage. But once they are there, they are fine.... Sreenanda is really passionate about taking up dance. It is just the beginning of her journey. There is a huge responsibility on her. She has to be like an open book because she will be praised and criticised at the same time. I am sure she is mature enough to balance it.

— Tanusree on Sreenanda’s return to dance

 

Mom on daughter

 

What is the best thing about Sreenanda?

She is basically a very simple, down-to-earth girl and I like this quality about her. I pray she stays like this.

One thing that you don’t like about Sreenanda or would like to change in her...

Her fickle-mindedness!

If you were to rate her as a daughter, student and friend on a scale of 1 to 10...

10 as a daughter, 7 as a student, 10 as a friend.

One word that describes her best...

Mad!

 

Daughter on mom

The best thing about your mother...

Her patience. That’s something anyone can learn from her.

One thing you don’t like about her or would like to change in her...

Sometimes I feel she is too nice, which can go against her. But it would still not be
something I would like to change about her as then it wouldn’t be her. So I guess I wouldn’t want to change a thing about her.

If you were to rate her as a mother, teacher and friend on a scale of 1 to 10...

9 as mother, 10 as teacher and 9 as friend.

One word that describes her best...

Elegant. It happens to be her attitude.

 

 

Text: Sibendu Das
Pictures: Pabitra Das