Rabindra Pokharel

Kathmandu:

When she fell into a trance, dancing to the old Nepali folk song “Mai chori sundari”, attired in the traditional chaubandi choli and faria with the patuka (a shred of cloth wrapped around a woman’s waist in traditional Nepali garb) tied around her dainty little waist she was so engrossed in her art that she didn’t even realise when the loosely knotted patuka unfastened. This would have been reason enough to disconcert and distract many a seasoned artiste performing onstage. But Deeya Maskey, a class four student of Amar Sishu Vidhyalaya then, performing at a school programme, was unfazed. Today, Deeya, in her early twenties, has come a long way. She is now pursuing her masters degree in dance.

“Amar Sishu Bidhyalaya was where I first had the opportunity to take elementary dance lessons. My parents had not been assenting to my idea of being a dance artiste,” Deeya recalls. Though they did not have a condescending outlook on the life of an artiste, her parents were apprehensive about their daughter leading the frugal life of a creative person. But Deeya remained unyielding to her parents’ dispiriting sermons and continued her efforts to discover the art. When she was a student of Modern Indian School nobody even dared to challenge her and take possession of the award for the best dancer. Everybody conceded the award reserved for Deeya.

Katthak and Bharat Natyam are still her special fields in the course. Deeya graduated from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad, majoring in dance with Katthak and Bharat Natyam as her specialisation fields. She says: “I’ve learnt so many things from my dance teacher Raju Shah, a renowned music director of the Nepali film industry. He’s been one to inspire me so much and infuse me with this passion that I have for dancing. He’s definitely the one who brought out the best in me.”

She had her first break as a dancer with the ‘Maha Jodi’ in London in 1997. She’s acted as a child artiste in a Nepali movie “Dui Thopa Ansu” where she showcased her equally accomplished talent of an actor. The audiences admired her for her exquisite performance. She has performed many music videos including the famous “Bhijyo Sirani” by Manila Sotang with bafflingly radical diversion from the hackneyed trend of presenting models. She did her first music video in “ Ee Ooth Haru” by Yam Baral.

“Dance is something that reflects subtle nuances of certain aspects of life,” she reflects, “and I can’t imagine what I could have been hadn’t I been a dancer” she adds with uncertainty. She says, though, that every dance has its own charm and western dance equally fascinates her. She has a special penchant for Katthak, Bharat Natyam and Chariya, a traditional Nepali dance.

Deeya has made her musical tours to London, Hong Kong, Japan, France, India, and Qatar with different musical troupes including Sur Sudha, the most acclaimed classical band of Nepal. Her most remarkable performance she recalls was in Hong Kong where she danced to the music of Yam Baral, Raju Lama, Kishore Gurung, Babin Pradhan along with 35 other artistes, showcasing Nepali folk dances, Bharat Natyam and Katthak.

Deeya is planning to make a tour to Europe in May where she’d perform classical and cultural dances. Though she’s also looking forward to making various stage performances in the capital, she’s sorry about people’s lack of interest in promoting traditional art and culture. “It’s an irony that we need Americans and Europeans to appraise the value of our traditional art,” she says.