How this Kathak exponent mentored many aspirants
Students who were tutored by Kumudini Lakhia say she is like a mother to them.
The famed exponent of Kathak, Kumudini Lakhia is the pioneer in this form of Indian classical dance in Ahmedabad. For more than six decades, Kumudiniben has been involved with dance and she is acclaimed the world over as both a solo performer and for her lead roles in dance ballets with another great, Pandit Birju Maharaj. "I began training my first batch of students in the 1960s and in 1967 I set up the Kadamb Centre for Dance and Arts," recollects Kumidini. Her unique contribution to the field is the introduction of a system of a new vocabulary of movements that she has used in all of her works. But Kumudiniben is also looked upon as a mother-figure by most of her students."She has been a very strict guru all along. I feel blessed to have her as not only my guru but someone who's more like a mother. Kumudiniben made me feel at home at Kadamb. She even celebrates my birthday and gives me presents after my successful solo concerts," says dancer Sanjukta Sinha. Renowned dancer Ishira Parikh who has learnt Kathak from Kumudiniben a long time ago says, "It is because of Kumudiniben that I chose Kathak as my career. I once saw her perform and decided that i wanted to learn Kathak from none but her." Vaishali Trivedi, a senior teacher at Kadamb, says, "She is a 'guru' in its true sense. She has been a mother to each one of us at the institute. She provides nourishment to every student who goes to her.""Every student comes from a different background and it takes a lot of time to create a relationship with them. But once I interact with them, I develop a lifelong relationship," smiles Kumudiniben.