Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain once said that his father, the genius Ustad Alla Rakha would forever remain his guru first and his parent later. Dr Uma Rele endorses the feeling, she says her mother-in-law, Dr Kanak Rele will first remain her guru and later, a family member. Uma Rele’s daughter Dr Vaidehi Rele Laal follows the tradition and even though she addresses Uma as mother, she never crosses the guru shishya laxmanrekha. Talking of tradition, a ritual I absolutely love is when a fully dressed shishya walks to the guru holding her ghunghroos in hands. The guru blesses the ghungroos. Then the dancer bends and touches her guru’s feet followed by a shashtang namashkar and only then appears on the stage for a performance.
I became aware of this tradition when young dancers rushed into the green room to seek Dr Uma Rele’s blessings and bestowed the same honour to all seniors present in the room. A touching moment.