transcript

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LISA MULLINS: There is a form of Indian classical dance that takes its name from Sanskrit. It's called Kathak. One of Kathak's foremost practitioners is Pandit Chitresh Das. The Indian dance master came to the US in the 1970s. He began teaching young Americans here. Now he's got six schools in California, and as Nishat Kurwa reports, his teachers instruct mostly South Asian students.

NISHAT KURWA: Like a fond older sister, this instructor urges the room full of south Asian girls to “chant louder! Jump higher!” They're acting out a legend of the Hindu lord Kersna where he submerges a serpent, conquering his fear. Some feet are perfectly in rhythm while others seem to always slap the ground a few seconds too late. This is a branch of the Chendam school of Chitresh dance. It was started by Kathak virtuoso Pandit Chitresh Das. He began teaching in northern California in 1970.

PANDIT CHITRESH DAS: You know, it was a little different scene. You know, “Man, hi Chitresh. Let's learn Chrisna dance,” and that's the way it was.

KURWA: Das described his first students as Marin County flower children, busy refining their rebellion, whereas he'd been schooled to revere his teacher.

DAS: There was a direct clash with them. Some of them were doped up. They'd come to the class, da da di, da da da, and I'd get angry. They thought, “Man, this is from India. Why do we have to go through this rigor?”

KURWA: But Das refused to dilute Kathak traditions and ultimately his school flourished. So did the Indian community in the San Francisco Bay area, as more urban middle class Indian professionals immigrated here in the 1980s. Seeking cultural immersion for their children, many began sending them to Das. He didn't expect that these parents would also need some guidance.

DAS: Indian parents did not understand, at all, the art culture. They understood the Indian culture,how to worship, how to eat and all that, but the art culture also requires tremendous discipline.

KURWA: Two decades later, this discipline is a key reason most South Asian parents enroll their children in the Chedlam school. Harvey and Nila Nayak started their daughter Shrea here a year ago, when she turned five.

NILA NAYAK: There's a certain respect and discipline that they learn through Kathak and so we'd like to have her practice that in daily life.

HARVEY NAYAK: Introduce our daughter to the culture and also hopefully help with a little bit of the discipline.

ADIFI AMANI: I think all parents want their kids to be cultured.

KURWA: 15-year-old Adifi Amani says she's gotten so deep into Kathak in the four years she's been dancing here, her parents sometimes wish she would take a break. They tell her she should focus on school the way she focuses on Kathak.

AMANI: Just seeing people here take ballet and things like that, so you think, “What about dancing in my culture? Can I do that?” My brother was pushing me to play Water Polo cause that's what he did, but I just love dancing so much. And also Pandit Chitresh Das is always telling us that Kathak's not only just dancing, but it's the mathematics, philosophy, athleticism, that's there too.

KURWA: Amani says she plans to keep dancing even when she goes away to college, since Kathak can also be a solitary meditation, practiced in front of a dorm room mirror.

AMANI: Once you make something a priority and you really realize what it means for you and why you're doing it, then you'll put it as a priority and work hard on it and be dedicated to it.

KURWA: Parent Ana Gasati says Kathak is something she's also dedicated to, because it's an activity she can share with her children that reinforces traditional values. She's been taking Kathak here for a year with her daughter, Ashlacia.

ANA GASATI: I don't know if you know the Beatles song “Get Back To Where You Once Belong”? It's like that. I mean I know I can't go back, but the best I can do right now is to bring my [INDESCERNIBLE] back here.

KURWA: For The World, I'm Nishat Kurwa, Union City, California.

MULLINS: To catch a glimpse of the lightning-fast feet of Pandit Chitresh Das, visit our website for a few videos. You can see them at theworld.org

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