Kathak not only keeps you physically fit, but it also has many benefits for your mental health. Shinjini Kulkarni, who has participated in important events like Khajuraho Festival, Kalidas Samaroh, Chakradhar Utsav, Sankatmochan Music Festival, Kathak Mahotsav, Vasanthotsav, is sharing her journey with Kathak.
Shinjini Kulkarni is a Kathak artiste and the granddaughter of Pandit Birju Maharaj. Shinjini, a history graduate from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, wanted to prepare for civil services. But there was something else that was swimming in his veins. Whose training he got in sports and who supported him in every happiness and sorrow. It was Kathak which he received training from Pandit Birju Maharaj. But when Pandit Birju Maharaj passed away in 2022, it was a time of double sorrow for him. Let us know from her how she overcame this grief and returned back to the stage.
Who is Shinjini Kulkarni?
I am a Kathak dancer and represent the ninth generation of Kalka Bindadin Gharana. I took Kathak lessons from my maternal grandfather Padma Shri Pandit Birju Maharaj ji. I run my own Kathak school in Delhi-NCR. I want to spread Kathak across the world through my solo and group performances in India and abroad.
However, I first wanted to prepare for civil services and for this purpose I did Honors in History. But perhaps I had to stick with Kathak and today this is my identity.
How did Kathak start?
I started learning Kathak at the age of 3-4. It also started just like any childhood game. I learned a lot in my family through sports. I have taken training from my maternal grandfather Pandit Birju Maharaj. Apart from this, all the artists in my house, all my aunts and uncles are there.
Read also
Started from a big family of Kathak
In the beginning I didn’t even realize that I was learning Kathak, it was just like playing a game. But as I took it more seriously, I began to understand what a great legacy I was getting involved in. Being from the ninth generation of Kathak, which is dedicating itself to the same art, it is a huge responsibility and honour.
Eight generations spent their lives, their careers in this and set so many benchmarks! My initial journey was spent understanding and feeling this feeling. As far as pressure is concerned, it is felt in every concert.
Pressure from a big family and inheritance
Whenever we go on stage to perform, our Guru’s name is taken just before that. This is the introduction of a disciple to an artist. Whenever I go on stage to perform, along with the introduction of my guru, it is also said that he is also my maternal grandfather. This automatically increases people’s expectations.
People expect that you will do such a good job every time that your Guru’s name becomes meaningful. You have to perform well, not just because you are a good artiste, but you are also representing such a huge legacy. There is a pressure, but I feel it is also a kind of privilege that I am representing his name. It is a privilege to carry forward his legacy. Where does everyone get something like this?
Apart from grandfather and guru, family atmosphere
My mother and father are visual artists. I am his only daughter. Father was very strict in terms of discipline and mother was affectionate. In a way, I got a balanced upbringing of both. Found a very safe environment, where everyone was from the art world. Whenever we met, there was discussion on art and its various dimensions. No matter how busy one was, care was always taken to ensure that Riyaz was not missed. This has become my habit now.
As a woman there are challenges here too
Certainly challenges are everywhere. But here, the biggest boon for me as a woman was that I got a safe environment. When I started performing on stage, my mother was always with me. For 6 years he left all his work and traveled with me. She used to sit in the front row at every presentation and I was always conscious of the fact that she was sitting. A kind of security, a kind of consciousness. And the inspiration to do something better has always been with me.
Benefits of Kathak for fitness and mental health
Kathak is a very interesting and active art, through which you can work very positively for your body and mind. In simple words, it gives you an opportunity for cardio exercise.
Whereas it has many benefits for mental health. It increases your focus, calms your mind. It actually works like meditation. You can use Kathak in many different ways for your health.
Kathak is practiced and performed with music. Initially, music relaxes you. When you do this continuously and for a long time, the negative thoughts coming in your mind are controlled. All your attention becomes focused on the song, music, rhythm and rhythm. Due to which you become positively focused about yourself and your surroundings.
Kathak controls anger
There are so many benefits of Kathak for mental health that it is difficult to talk about them. You avoid overthinking and it helps you control anger. It has many scientific bases. It has been proven in many researches that whenever you do any physical activity, the level of endorphin hormone increases inside your body.
Our ancestors knew and understood all these things very well. That is why he gave so much importance to dance, music and art. The idea on which Indian culture is based is the idea of non-violence. We have to follow this for our body also.
Don’t do violence to your body
The specialty of dance, music and all arts is that they advocate being gentle towards the body. And support the idea of non-violence towards him.
In any other exercise, you are pushed to do a tough task. But Kathak is a practice in which one is encouraged to listen and understand one’s body. The most important thing is that we should not put so much pressure on our body in any way that it feels violent on it. It can be said that Kathak is such a balanced practice, through which you can achieve all your goals.
I stay fit through yoga and exercise
This art form demands strength, stamina and fitness. Obviously, to fully enjoy a healthy and active life, it is very important to have proper fitness.
So that you can perform continuously without getting tired, without stopping and without breathing issues. Cardio is essential along with strength training 6 days a week. Personally, I do a mixed workout of yoga and stretching. Both exercise and practice of yoga are very important for body flexibility. Apart from this, breathing exercises and proper diet are also important.
Recovering mental health is half the battle won.
When you are in public life, your life is completely open in front of everyone. Those people feel entitled to you because they like you and love you. Just like it happens with sportspersons, similarly it is important for an artist to work on his mental health. Actually our dance form also helps us in this. When you keep practicing the same thing for hours, it also increases your patience and focus. It is also dedication towards oneself.
It is very good that people have now started talking openly about mental health. But the conversation should not end with just talking. You have to make regular efforts for yourself.
Performance during menstrual period
Being an artist does not mean that you have to practice all 30 days of the month. Before you are a dancer, you are a person and you have to be gentle with yourself. When you don’t feel well, or feel down, you can take a break for yourself. Forcing yourself during menstruation is a form of violence. Both Yoga and Kathak inspire us to be non-violent.
But laziness cannot be included in this. Not being able and not having the mind are two different things. You need to be aware of yourself and maintain balance. Whenever I feel the need, I give rest to my body. So that I can work better the next day with full energy.
After 30 it is even more important to take care of yourself
Certainly, it is a bit difficult for women to maintain fitness after 30. Their hormones change, they start gaining fat. But it is very important to maintain your fitness for dance. At this age, along with exercise, you have to take great care of your diet.
Hormonal changes are such that you do not get complete nutrition through diet alone. That’s why I also take supplements. I take zinc supplements because my dietitian told me I needed it. This is important for both fitness and mental health.
If you are also feeling any kind of weakness, fatigue or stress, then it is important that Consult a dietician and choose the right nutrition and diet for yourself. In fact, with time, soil quality, air quality, everything is deteriorating. Therefore additional health supplements are necessary. Physical health, mental health are very important to remain active and happy in public life.
Pandit Birju Maharaj’s departure and the rise of tension
It was a very difficult time for me when Nana ji died. If I didn’t have dance, I might never have recovered from that stress. At the family level, it was not only our personal loss, for me it was also the loss of my Guru. He was my friend with whom I could share everything. It was becoming very difficult for me to perform the songs recorded in his voice and go through the things taught by him again.
Moreover, stage performances after his departure were difficult for me. People were remembering him, organizing programs in his memory and wanted us to be a part of them. It was a time of double challenge.
But perhaps those same challenges helped me overcome this sadness. For me, this is both a spiritual practice and also a way of remembering my grandfather. I dedicated myself completely to Kathak. Like this is my connection with my Guru and Nana. This is how we stay connected to each other.
it’s never too late
It is most important for any person to remain mentally and physically healthy. I started doing Kathak from a very young age. But this does not mean that you cannot do anything with increasing age. It is important for all of us to take time for ourselves, to be gentle towards ourselves. I believe that it is never too late, if you want to do something in your 30s, 40s, or even after 50, then you should definitely do it. Any time can be good for your health and your mind.
It is the responsibility of all of us to keep such a window in our life from where we get peace and comfort. Kathak is such a window of peace for me.
Also read – Mind can control everything, so it is most important to take care of it: Actress and singer Shruti Haasan