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Nathalia Jones

Her parents wanted her to become a hotshot software professional. But Keiko Watanabe from Japan followed her heart to India to learn Kuchipudi.

Her straight hair and features are the only signs that betray the fact that she is not Indian. And you can easily find the Japanese lurking somewhere between those kohl-lined eyes and jasmine braided hair. Otherwise Keiko Watanabe is a "pucca Tamilian."

Two very important words in her expanding Tamil vocabulary ever since the day she stepped on stage as a Kuchipudi performer."The audience is surprised when they find out that I'm Japanese. They say, `We expected to find a Tamilian or someone from Andhra Pradesh, but not a performer from Japan'," she says. Today, Keiko's is a well-known face at places like the prestigious Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai, where she gives regular solo performances. How many till date? "Oh I have to count now," she sighs, looking down at her fingers and comes up with the number 30, since she started training in 1996.

Now that the "pucca Tamilian" image is catching on, the audience is beginning to take notice. "People say that I've improved on my abhinaya, meaning facial expression," she says. "That's good because a lot of people believe that foreigners might be good at dancing any of the Indian classical art forms, but very few — in fact, none — are able to capture their emotions, in particular the facial expressions. It's very difficult for them to emote," says Sailaja, her instructor.

It takes a lot of effort for the young woman to pursue her interest. She has made two worlds her home — she shuttles between Tokyo and India, staying six months on each side, sweats a three-hour daily routine of practice and braves Chennai's menacing roads and nefarious autowallahs, in the quest to "gain perfection" in the dance form.

"It's not easy," she says sombrely. "We have to incur so much expenditure for accommodation, food as well as the classes." But her husband supports her totally. "My husband encourages me tremendously. He runs a restaurant in Japan and is also interested a lot in Indian art and culture. We are the perfect combination, I guess," she says smiling.

Her parents, however, would rather she get a degree in computer science and work for a software company. There's still some hope in the family that eventually she will. But when Keiko saw a Malavika Sarukkai programme in Japan, over a decade ago, she was hooked. She then decided to follow her heart, though she didn't know at the time that the trail could lead to the stage. Staring into the distance she says, "It was mere curiosity. I just wanted to see how it would turn out, so I just learnt the basics of from a teacher in Japan. I began to get interested." And the enthusiasm continued to grow over four years of intense training till she completed one margam (level/item) in Bharatanaytam.

How did Kuchipudi come into the picture? "When I came to Chennai as a tourist in 1995, I watched a Kuchipudi performance and I wanted to learn the dance form," she says. But as the dance style is not very popular in Japan, nobody teaches it, and hence she decided to train in India. She picked up the basics from Sailaja's friend who is also an instructor. Later, in 2000, she started coaching under Sailaja at the Saila Sudha School of Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi, in Chennai.

Why the sudden change of heart from Bharatanatyam to Kuchipudi? "It has such speed and grace, and the moves are so sensuous... I don't know why but I find it very attractive," she says simply.

Says Sailaja, "She is not here just to have fun. I think it's basically her sheer sincerity and interest and she is very focused. She's very particular about registering what she learns; and she makes it a point to learn everything. She even draws figures of the various poses."

"I'll show you my book," Keiko says and disappears into her room. She returns a minute later with a stack of books, and turns to pages of meticulous notes in both English and Japanese accompanied by stick figures in various dance poses. "I have to get the word immediately, only then will I understand what my teacher is saying. So that's how I know a lot of the terminology. And when I return to Japan, there is no one to help me practise, so it's better to write it all down," she says.

At the moment Bharatanatyam is more known in Japan, but Keiko hopes to kindle some interest in Kuchipudi as well, and hopes one day to teach the dance form. But till that happens, it will be the rigour of routine practice with the occasional biking around Chennai, which she knows like the back of her palm. "During the music festival season, she attends Carnatic music recitals and dance programmes. She has developed a taste for the art and is now able to make informed decisions about whose programmes she wants to attend," says Sailaja.

"I recently saw an Odissi performance and was pretty impressed with that. I would indeed love to begin learning that form of dance as well," Keiko says excitedly. But for now there will be no distractions.

Picture by Shaju John

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