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Against the odds
“Why classical dance? Why not,” I have hardly finished my first query when pat comes the counter-argument. A determined Amjad Ansari appears eager to defend his foray into a realm which is almost taboo for males in this part of the world.
He cannot recall any specific inspiring influence, perhaps it was there in his genes. His early childhood was spent in Karachi where his father was a government servant. The occasion was a state reception at the Prime Minister House where the famous Ghanshyams had been invited to perform. As the husband-wife duo rehearsed by the pool side, a young Amjad managed to sneak in and started imitating the Manipuri steps.
Obviously impressed, Ghanshyam offered to adopt the child and train him as a dancer. As the father was busy with the organization of the event, an anxious Mrs Ansari hid her child away, admonishing him never to show his face in the presence of the Ghanshyams ever again. She may not have known then that her fears were in direct conflict with the plans of destiny.
Many years later, Amjad managed to train himself as an accomplished classical dancer, under the exacting tutelage of Sheema Kermani, herself a Ghanshyam disciple.
As a child, he remembers dancing behind closed doors. His feet would freeze whenever his father entered the room. But the late Mr Ansari never raised any serious objection to his youngest son’s inclination towards taal and rhythm. “All he would say was: ‘I do not mind your taking it up as a hobby, but never consider it as a career option in Pakistan’,” remembers Amjad today.
The mother reclined with indifference as friends and family clapped and coaxed young Kuku (his nickname) to dance at family get-togethers and weddings to the tune of Madam Noor Jehan and Lata Mangeshkar numbers such as Chun Chun Nachoon Gi and Dhoondo Dhoondo Re Sajina, respectively. As a dancing Amjad looked around, all he could see in their eyes was praise and appreciation. But come college life and the undergraduate stepped into glaring limelight. From family weddings in Lahore to college functions in Rawalpindi, Amjad’s dance had by now acquired the status of an essential affair. It was one such college event in Pindi where his proverbial snake dance performance was witnessed by the veteran dancer Madam Azuri. The dancing nagan was summoned into Madam’s presence and counselled to attend her dance classes.
Amjad Ansari terms dance as an expression of joy and as such an integral part of human existence. He considers the journey as arduous for male contenders. ‘We have to worry about building careers and supporting families. To spare time and resources for an art form which is not looked at with respect by our society can be an ordeal’
But before he could heed this worthy advice, his name was recommended by the college authorities to represent Punjab at a youth festival in Iran. “Those were the RCD (Regional Cooperation for Development) days. Soon after I was invited to perform at Jashn-i-Kabul, the famous spring festival in pre-Taliban Afghanistan,” remembers Amjad.
After his graduation he joined the PNCA’s puppet theatre in Rawalpindi. It was here that he met the council’s dance director Faqir Hussain Saga and was offered to join the latter’s Kathak sessions in Islamabad. For the next three months an eager Amjad would venture to learn the intricate Kathak footwork along side two foreign ladies, one was the wife of the then American Consul-General and the other the spouse of the then French ambassador.
After his father’s retirement from government service, the family moved back to Karachi. “It was during this time that I read Sheema Kermani’s interview in a local magazine and traced her number from the publisher’s office. On seeing my interest, she offered to coach me free of charge,” he says.
Looking back at his 20-year association with one of the country’s respected classical dancers and social activist, Amjad considers her as “ustad se ziyada dost.” He recalls the sweltering afternoons of Karachi’s summers when he would reach Sheema’s house, filled with childish excitement. The tutor would first entertain her students with a vegetarian feast and then get down to teach them the intricacies of Kathak and Bharat Natyam.
Being her very first male student and one of the few who have stuck to the end, Amjad has performed alongside Sheema in the classical ballet, The Song of Moenjodaro, staged in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. He accompanied her to the International Dance and Theatre Festival in Hamburg in 1999, where they performed the ballet Indus Europa, jointly choreographed by Sheema and the French choreographer, Marcus Matos.
Sheema and Khalid Ahmed both encouraged Amjad to act in Tehrik-e-Niswan plays as well. “Aik Hazaar Aik Thi Raatain is one such celebration of dance and drama based on the tales of The Arabian Nights, which we enacted in Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata. Ab Jang Nahin Hogi is based upon a theme of peace among nations and was presented in Mumbai. The occasion was the International Social Forum attended by activists from around the globe,” he says.
His first solo performance was held at the PACC in Karachi in 1993 with Sheema on stage directing the musicians and Khalid Ahmed playing the flute. Amjad’s second show was presented in 2003 at the same venue and sponsored by PACC’s former director, Asma Ahmed. He is now staging his third show again at the PACC on January 28 and 29.
Now living with his mother in a towering apartment complex overlooking the Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum, Amjad Ansari spends a his days teaching creative movement at some of the city’s prestigious institutions. He has also choreographed dance numbers for PTV producer Shaheen Ansari’s Eid shows and the PTV New Year show, also performing in the latter. “I choreographed Angeline Malik’s dance sequence in Paktel’s Dil To Aik Hai ad but had to turn down a personal appearance in it as it involved travelling all the way to Multan with the production crew and leaving my mother alone at home. And then came Sultana Siddiqui’s play, Kathak, written by Mohammed Ahmed, in which I acted and choreographed the classical dance sequences as well. I have recently also choreographed two dance numbers for Marina Khan’s telefilm called Dixit which deals with the infatuation of a teenage girl with the Bollywood dancing queen, Madhuri Dixit,” he says.Amjad terms dance as an expression of joy and as such an integral part of human existence. “Logon ki samajh,” is all he has to say about the society’s attitude towards dance. He considers the journey as arduous for male contenders. “We have to worry about building careers and supporting families. To spare time and resources for an art form which is not looked at with respect by our society can be an ordeal,” he says.
After the death of stalwarts such as Maharaj Kathak, Faqir Hussain Saga and Rafi Anwer, Amjad Ansari and Fasihur Rehman are the only two male exponents of classical dance left in Pakistan. Their case is surely one against convention, in a society which finds itself choked by self-imposed restrictions. Indeed, the dancing steps of Amjad Ansari can teach many how to finally break free.
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