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Dances with Love




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Exploring the issues of art and marriage in India, "In Her Own Footsteps" is the story of Sheeba, a beautiful and talented Indian dancer. Many female artists in India must stop performing after marriage if the husband decides against it. Eighty percent of Indian marriages are arranged, so a female artist may choose not to marry at all, but Sheeba was able to avoid this fate by marrying for love--against her parents wishes. Her husband Manish is a loving man from a different caste and religion who supports Sheeba in dance and in life. Ironically, Sheeba's mother, who taught her everything she knows, was not so lucky in her own marriage to Sheeba's tabla-playing father.
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7 responses // Dances with Love

  • I know her parents - they are Shyam Kumar Mishra (who is one of the foremost tabla players in India and teaches at the Varanasi University) and his wife Pinkie (I haven't seen her for ten years, she is not looking well, she used to be such a beauty...). On the harmonium, in this video, is Triloki Mishra. I was with their cousins Ravi Shankar Mishra and Mata Prasad Mishra, two of the best Kathak dancers of the Varanasi style, just a few weeks ago.
    Vierotchka
  • what a great story, I loved this piece
    SusanB
  • It is a fascinating article - very worthy of Current TV.

    It is not just Manish but the couple who have made the decision to break the mold. They are lucky to have some amount of acceptance within their culture.

    I have other Indian friends who strongly support arranged marriages saying things like, "My mother and father have always had my best interests at heart. Why would they change that attitude for my "chosen" wife? I Trust them as I always have." This is a striking statement and one that is indicative of the clash of old vs new.

    At any rate Sheeba's dancing is very graceful and beautiful. It is a shame that any person's dream (Sheeba's mother) be squashed because of another individual (her father). You would think that cultural preservation would be at the root of allowance, but it's obvious that an even deeper magic is at work here - that of the jealousy of a man for his woman.

    The article really emphasizes the power of the individual to break even something so mighty as the cast system in India.
    recommended by  Vierotchka
    greenoak
  • Such a beautiful culture and people. This gave me a brain wrinkle. Great piece.
    Neghie
  • I think it's great that the woman's husband let her continue to dance, even after their marriage. As a man, his thoughts about marriage and about his wife are amazingly...progressive. But that poor girl's mother. I think it's very sad that she spent half of her life not being able to dance because of her husband, and now she can never really ever dance again like her daughter, because her shape from her young age is gone forever. That sucks.

    Where were the pink ladies?
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    thedevilsmuse
  • the indian culture is so colorful and facinating.
    ParkerE
  • It feels so good to see India and the people of India growing...its feels even better to see the smiles and happiness in their faces...
    BFAM_RVS

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