Uma Sharma is forever immersed in oceans of creativity. As a veteran kathak dancer, she has crossed many milestones.
Whether it is her eclectic performance in Maharaas Leela, which she has been performing for 33 years, or her poignant dance-drama composition Stree, known for its powerful thematic content and artistic presentation, or writing and directing a documentary film, Yadgar-E-Ghalib, as a leading exponent of kathak, Uma Sharma has something innovative to offer, always.
Recipient of numerous awards, Uma Sharma has performed extensively at home and abroad and has striven to sustain the tradition of bhava in kathak. In 1973, she became the youngest dancer to be awarded Padma Shri and then Padma Bhushan in 2001.
She is also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Sahitya Kala Parishad awards.
Talking of Maharaas Leela, she says, "This particular Maharaas is unique in that it combines the traditional Braj raas style of Vrindavan with classical kathak. It is based on the 10th chapter of Shreemad Bhagavatam, according to which, it was on a full moon night that Lord Krishna decided to do the raas, and danced with his gopis.
We have been staging this dance ballet for the past 33 years and it is very popular with the audiences."
Maharaas is a unique blend which highlights the doyenne dancer's creative originality as a choreographer and also shows her concern for placing kathak in its true perspective — as a dance for the gods, in the home of the gods (temples).
This dancer has had a childhood steeped in dance. Encouraged by her parents, she started learning kathak at the age of 10, simply as a hobby. "Soon my father made me a disciple of Guru Girvar Dayalji, a veteran of Jaipur gharana," reminisces Uma.
She recalls her first performance at a UN conference and then regular performances in honour of the birthday of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. "I would dance for the chocolate box I would receive as a gift!," says Uma.
Walking down memory lane, she says, "It has been a wonderful creative journey so far. I want to dedicate my entire life to this divine art form."
Uma has never held herself back from researching well into the subject of her choice and has worked hard to compile a formidable repertoire of research-based pieces. "I have been particularly interested in bhakti poets and have researched a lot on them," she says. Her performances based on Panchavati Varnan and Rama Vana Gaman of Tulsidas are celebrated works.
"My training and technique in kathak and abhinaya have been shaped by my gurus. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from Shambhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj, noted gurus of kathak of the Lucknow gharana," she adds.
Uma runs the Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan, a classical dance and music school founded by her father in 1946 in Delhi. She believes in imparting good values to her students by her own deeds. She organises music and dance programmes at her Sadan on every festival.
"On Janmashtami too I fast, but I dance," she smiles. "We need to set a good example to the younger generation so that they will understand the worth of our heritage and traditions."
Talking of her present projects, "I am working on some exciting projects right now. I'm reviving Inder Sabha, an Urdu play written in 1853 by Agha Hasan Amanat, and believed to have been commissioned by the premier Moghul patron of kathak, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow. It has aesthetic nuances of nautanki and mujra. Here the emotions are depicted through hand and facial expressions, which is called bhav," she explains.
With her distinct personal idiom, she will never stop drawing admirers.