The Kathak dancer — that is but one of the masks that this lady dons. She has been in the Indian civil service for more than 30 years. And if you’ve ever been lucky enough to see her perform on stage, you will (no doubt take my word for it) wonder about her age.

This person is none other than the vivacious Shovana Narayan, who was here recently for the

Indian Republic Day celebrations on the invitation of the Indian embassy.

Coming from an “enlightened family” — father was in the civil services and her mother was an MA from Benaras Hindu University at that time — she recalls “growing up hearing Bhagwat Geeta at home, with philosophy, literature and culture being part of the growing up process”.

Her mother took her to Sadhana Bose to take up Kathak classes when Shovana was just two-and-half-years old. “You brought a babe for the training” was her guru’s response then.

Today this babe is a figure to reckon with in the Kathak world.

And Narayan says, “Like a fish in water, I found my life’s breath in Kathak.” She gave her first stage performance at the age of four, and since then she has been performing, teaching, and learning as she believes “learning never ends no matter how old or mature you become”.

Not only is Kathak her first love, it also brought the other love into her life. She met her future husband at one her performances. After a long-distance courtship of two years, in 1982 she finally decided to marry this Austrian diplomat who had stolen her heart.

“I was not ready to give up my career. He is a gem of a human being. He let me be myself. I was always a visiting wife,” laughs Narayan.

A bright student, she is a Physics postgraduate and is doing her Ph D. And her government service career is no less shiny — she is an outstanding officer — director general, audit.

How does she manage all this? Her answer is, “It’s all in the mind. If you put your mind and heart to it, if you have the passion for it, you can do it.” She believes each of us is multifaceted, playing various roles at a time with perfect balance.

Of her passion she says, “Performing art is a medium where I can be myself. It’s my breath.” Besides her job, she teaches, composes new pieces in her free time and usually manages seven to eight performances a month, both local and international.

And age is no limit for her. “Unlike the Western ballet, which is more physical, one of the beauties of Eastern dances is that they are not only rhythmic but also have a lot of abhinaya that transcends the barrier of age of the performer.”

According to her, it all depends on individual artists and their mental and physical fitness.

A woman who is always performing the stories of gods, one cannot help but think she must be that puja-doing kinds. “I am very spiritual but not dogmatic or ritualistic. I fear the wrath of invisible energy. I hate to think of hurting anybody willingly,” Narayan says.

Well, wrath of gods or their blessings, Narayan surely has the latter and one cannot part from this danseuse with asking her her age.

“I am as old as I look, as old as you think I am and as old as I think I am.”

Beautiful, ain’t she?