PAKISTAN: In More Ways Than One, Bollywood Dancing Creates Waves

By Zofeen Ebrahim
KARACHI, Pakistan, Mar 17 (IPS) Saleha Firdaus, a mother of two teenage
children, has been moving to the
Bollywood beat at a dance studio for over a year now and "loves every
moment"
of this personal time. For her part, 22-year-old Maheen Jafri was a
"bedroom
dancer" until she discovered a Bollywood and hip-hop dance studio and
"shed
my inhibitions totally."

These pursuits by these women would have been accepted as another new
fad that the rich and the bored indulge in anywhere else in the world. But
in
an Islamic country like Pakistan, where all performing arts, and specially
dance, is looked upon disparagingly, the Bollywood dancing trend has
astounded many.

Bollywood refers to the Hindi-language movie industry based in
India’s film
industry hub Mumbai and its story lines include rich dance numbers.

"You’re on a different planet altogether! This is my time
away from my
family," says the 39-year-old Firdaus, who has been going to one-hour
dance classes twice a week at Joshinder Chagger’s class in one of
city’s posh
localities. I think after all these years of minding the home, the kids
and a
husband, I deserve to give myself these two hours, every week!"

However, no one is privy to Firdaus’ secret except her husband
and children
– and especially not her in-laws. "They won’t
understand." She has told
everyone that she goes to a gym and that is acceptable.

"I think I was never a bad dancer, but was reserved and
conservative," says
a diminutive Jafri, a student of economics and finance who goes to
BodyBeat
Recreational Centre. Her instructor, Hazan Rizvi, "has helped break
all
barriers," she says.

Many diehard gym goers, yoga and aerobic aficionados aged between 16 to
60 have been turning to Rizvi’s "fat-torching" classes or
Chagger’s promise
of "getting fit with Bollywood dance classes".

Even more surprising is the fact there are many who not only shed off
their
‘hijab’ (veil) to reveal figure-hugging track pants and
T-shirts, but all
inhibitions once they step into their dancing shoes.

"Bollywood dancing sums up everything that Pakistani women want
today.
Bollywood dance classes are an extension of the ‘feel good’
factor" is how
Tarannum Ahmed, a doctor, explains the fad. "While in that one-hour
class,
these women relive tinseltown fantasies. Their self-esteem increases; they
feel beautiful."

Chagger, who began learning Bharatnatyam, a genre of eastern classical
dance form, from the age of five, later took up contemporary dance.
Defining
dance as a form of "dialogue, a communication, an expression through
the
body," she says most women come to her to "lose weight, to
exercise, feel
good.…"

To that list the 25-year-old Rizvi adds, "to socialise, make new
friends and
because it is the hip new thing in town."

The age group of those turning to Bollywood dancing varies as do their
reasons for taking it up. Some women in their late 40s and early 50s want
to
learn the latest steps to be able to dance at their children’s
weddings or to
dance reasonably well at charity balls and such events.

"Women come to me and tell me there is a wedding in their family
and they
have never danced before, or they say they move ‘funny’ when
they dance at
balls," says 42-year-old Fehmida Masktiya, an instructor who has only
recently opened dance classes in her home that are exclusively for women.

Maskatiya, who herself belongs to a very conservative family that
frowns on
this art form, said: "I love dancing, have always loved it."
However, she could
only show off her moves in all-women wedding gatherings. "I was dying
to
teach others what I know, but was scared of my family’s
reaction."

In the end, she got her husband’s full support for what she does,
and the
number of women joining her is growing day by day.

Zahid Hussain, a 25-year-old self-taught instructor, has been giving
private Bollywood dance lessons within the confines of socialites’
homes for
over five years. His clients include "showbiz celebrities, top
businesswomen
and even politicians", but he refuses to divulge their names.

But there are many more women who join dance classes for no other
reason
than to have fun. The changes they bring about in these women never cease
to amaze him, Hussain says. "They develop an inner confidence, are
more
self-assured, more graceful and look happier."

"I got the best compliment of my life when a man walked up to me
at a
party and told me that in the two months that his wife joined my classes,
she
had been transformed. He said she had become more communicative, more
willing to go out and socialise more often, is happier and more
confident,"
relates Rizvi. "I said to myself, ‘I’m doing this forever
if I can bring such
radical changes in people’s lives!’ "

Jafri may not have lost all the ‘extra layers’ of fat she
wanted to get rid of
when she first joined Rizvi’s class, but cherishes the friends she
has made
along the way. "The group ranges anywhere from 16 to 30, but
it’s so much
fun hanging out with them."

Even Chagger, the instructor, treasures the moments. "Everyone,
including
me, has the biggest smile on their face throughout the class. The class is
buzzing with positive energy. I, for one, feel really 'alive'
during this class,"
she says. "We need more of this positive energy in this
city!" referring to the
wave of violent attacks that hit the city two months back.

But not everyone is being carried away by the Bollywood wave.

"I feel sad at the rapid and disgusting deterioration of our
society," says
Sheema Kermani, a renowned classical dance maestro who finds the
Bollywood dance craze a "meaningless" activity "devoid of
creativity and
intellect".

A rights activist who founded the non-government organisation Tehrik-e-
Niswan (Woman’s Movement), Kermani says: "It is not food for
the mind and I
believe where there is no thought, no politics, then there is no
art."