Danseuse Dona Ganguly talks about her upcoming dance drama, Shyama
Odissi exponent Dona Ganguly is all set to present her new production, Rabindranath Tagore’s dance drama, Shyama. The cordial and ever-smiling Dona, with whom we caught up at her residence before her rehearsals, spoke at length about what made her choose Shyama, what it’s like being a celebrity wife, how she spends her me-time, and much more. Here are a few excerpts from our chat:
What made you choose this dance drama as your next production?
As Odissi dancers, we don’t do much of Tagore’s creations, but since I am from Bengal, there’s always a demand. After my daughter Sana went to London, we met Ananda Gupta, the head of Dakshinayan, which is Dakshinee in the UK, and then, every year, we kept doing one of Tagore’s dance dramas. This is our third one. Earlier, we did Mayar Khela, Tasher Desh, and now Shyama.
Also, Shyama is like a complete package. It has many elements and scope for abhinaya, which is why we chose this particular dance drama.
How do you think Shyama is relevant in 2025, especially from a woman’s point of view? How will the younger audience resonate with it?
Shyama was a proud woman. Whether she really wanted to kill Uttiya or just wanted to showcase her power is a question. Probably, she didn’t really want to sacrifice Uttiya, I think it was an inner conflict that she was going through. Tagore writes about kotal (police chief) saying that someone needs to be sacrificed to keep the king happy, and that has a bigger social message and has always been very relevant, globally. Often, people get punished, guilty or not, to satisfy someone powerful. That is what Shyama explores, too.
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You recently performed at the inauguration of the Digha Jagannath temple. Tell us about the experience.
Wonderful, actually. Whenever you perform in a temple, the experience is unexplainable. It was 2.30 pm and scorching hot. But we performed. It was a troupe of 30 dancers, we were sweating, but it was Lord Jagannath’s blessings that we didn’t face any problem and I am happy with the performance.
How strict are you as a teacher?
I would say I am very disciplined as a teacher. Our culture is rich, I make sure that whatever I am creating or choreographing, it is rich and colourful, so that everyone, be it the dancers or the audience, gets hooked on to it, enjoys it. My motto is to make people understand how rich our country is culturally, so that even if you don’t learn it or perform it, you have respect for it and are proud of it.
I am strict when it comes to shows, but not during everyday classes. I hate when my students don’t attend rehearsals but want to participate in the programme.
What keeps you busy when you are not dancing or travelling?
I like spending time with my other daughter, Sugar (pet). I don’t mind lazing around, just sitting on the couch and watching movies or doing something. But that’s a rare occasion as I am always preoccupied with something or the other.
How difficult is it to be a celeb wife? How do you handle the trolls?
I ignore them. See, the thing is, if someone says you are bad, you wouldn’t become bad. You are what you are. Whatever people may think about you, let them think. You should be like Shyama, satisfied with yourself. So I am happy being who I am — a dancer, a teacher, a mother, daughter, and a wife to a very busy husband (Sourav Ganguly). And I am so proud of him. He has been an inspiration to so many people. I am very happy about what he is today, how much he has achieved, and what he is giving back to society.
Shyama will be staged on May 31 and June 1 at Rabindra Sadan.