I’m nobody to criticise change: Sonal Mansingh

She sits in the chair as our lensman gets ready to click. “Look at me...I am sitting like Queen Victoria,” she says and we all break into laughter. The conversation veers towards humor and she says, “I can’t trust people who don’t laugh.”
Legendary danseuse, choreographer and author Sonal Mansingh was in Ahmedabad for a performance. It’s difficult to miss that element of elegance in the way she enters into the room, greets and adjusts her cushions on the chair before settling down for a conversation.
This acclaimed Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancer’s life story can spin a thousand inspiring tales. A near-fatal accident almost threatened to end her career as a dancer but she refused to call it quits. She eventually came back to the world of dance to which she belongs wholly and substantially.
Taking a retro look, she says, “When you are in a ship, you don’t know when the waves will come and how. Everything is unpredictable. I see my life’s journey like that. For me, art and life are interlinked.”
As a performing artist, how does she see the element of change? “I am nobody to criticise change. No change means stagnancy. Art, thinking, breathing must flow like water. There’s no finality in art. There’s no full stop in art. Evolution is the core of change. Every performer must apply his knowldge for interpretation of art.”
In changing times, how does she see technology vis-a-vis art? She laughs and says, “Well, if you are not on Facebook then you just don’t exist now.” Then she adds seriously, “The real birds have vanished. Now only virtual birds tweet. I was lucky that I made my name when technology was not all so pervasive. Today, we crowd minds with trivia and that definitely affects art and artists. You need a very sharp mind to focus on essentials.”
Sonal who has created much-acclaimed works like Mukti, Sundari feels, “One can’t separate art from life. My art defines me as a person.” For decades, Sonal has brought her own vision and creativity to Indian mythological stories as well as to contemporary issues. She says, “I want to raise questions through my art. Art is my bridge to connect with people. I have fought for my own space and it’s hard-earned.”
Sonal was recently seen in Dance India Dance, a reality show. Ask her about dance based reality shows ruling the small screen, she says, “I have nothing against them. I enjoyed being there on the show with young dancers.”
It’s difficult not to talk about love to Sonal who did Nayika in 2011, a beautifully etched picture of a woman in love in all the shades through a string of lyrics by poet Rabindranath Tagore. She laughs like a 16 year old and asks, “Tell me what do you think of love?” One pesters a little more and she says, “Without love, there’s no life. Love is multi-dimensional. Love gives you a constant sense of elevation.”
In between conversations, she pauses for a while and asks, “Why don’t you have a cup of tea or coffee?” As she sips her coconut water-ginger drink, she says, “I love good food. There was a time when I used to chop, cook for 25-30 people. My cooking is eclectic. Oh yes, we artists are all into ‘creative’ cooking. But I miss having Odiya food in New Delhi. (Sonal was once married to former Indian foreign secreatry Lalit Mansingh (who is from Odisha).”
“I am also good at cooking up stories. I got into a little trouble on some occasions but in the end I managed,” she says with a laugh.