No matter
what, she always managed to stay in the news. Whether
it was streaking across Juhu Beach in the nude,
embarking on a study of Odissi in her late twenties
or setting up Nrityagram, a dance gurukul on the
outskirts of Bangalore, Protima Gauri Bedi made
headlines wherever she went.
Endowed with a
tremendous zest for life, Protima was constantly
experimenting with new things, taking risks and
living her life to the hilt. Bold and spunky, even if
somewhat brazen, she was ready for whatever
challenges life threw at her. As Bangalore-based
choreographer Prasad Bidappa said, "It's that
wonderful spirit of hers that I really like. I'm
impressed with her determination to get where she
has, the life she led to get Nrityagram going -
actually living in a trailer in the middle of
nowhere!"
Married to the
suave gray-eyed actor Kabir Bedi, Protima was one of
Bombay's famous socialites, flitting from one
cocktail to another. Once, on her way to a fashion
show, she accidentally entered an Odissi performance
by Shri Kelucharan Mahapatra. And thus begun her
lifelong affair with classical dance. Following her
divorce, she set up Nrityagram in 1990, exclusively
for the preservation of the seven classical Indian
dance styles and two martial arts forms. Following
the ancient `guru-shishya- parampara' method of
teaching, students and their dance gurus lived
together for six years in the Nrityagram community,
perfecting their craft, studying Sanskrit,
philosophy, mythology, yoga, ayurveda and related
sciences and disciplines. Her vision was to create
"an idyllic dance village [that] was peopled
with idealistic, hardworking, extremely talented and
dedicated young dancers"
Many thought
her flighty and frivolous, but as painter Yusuf
Arakkal said, "It's her flamboyance, her style
that has been so often misinterpreted as if she is
always doing things for publicity. In the US, she
would have been a cultural icon..." Protima and
her troupe of dancers toured extensively, giving
performances worldwide. However, increasingly
deteriorating health forced her to announce her
retirement from Nrityagram, and hand over the reins
of her dance village to her trusted lieutenant Lynn
Fernandes.
Protima had
tremendous resilience, facing problems and moving on.
Lack of funds at Nrityagram, failing health, even her
son Siddharth's tragic suicide did not deter her from
living. She kept herself busy, trekking in the
Garhwals, learning Sanskrit, raising funds for
Nrityagram and spending time with daughter Pooja and
granddaughter Aaliya. On August 12, 1998 she left for
a 33-day trek to Mansarovar, dreaming of
"wandering on a yak around Mount Kailash."
Never to return.
Protima Gauri
Bedi, Gauirama to her students, will be remembered
for many things - her wild exploits, her guts,
vibrant spirit and supreme confidence, her
contribution to the Indian arts, but above all as
someone who believed in the joy of living, and
practiced it everyday of her life.
