There is no starker reminder of the metronomic ticking of the clock than mankind’s mortality and the passing of legends one by one. It is in the way they lived their lives and in their attitudes that we find inspiring nuggets of information that could prove useful to emerging generations. Take the life of Zohra Sehgal, nee Sahibzadi Zohra Begum Mumtazullah Khan, as an example. Who would have believed that the tomboy trait in her would help her break free of traditions and shine in the world of dance and motion pictures?
Born around the time that Indian cinema came into existence in the second decade of the 20th century, Zohra shed her purdah to learn ballet at a famous studio in Dredsen, Germany, after travelling all the way by car from Lahore, the trip being funded by a rich UK based uncle. Watching a Uday Shankar ballet in Europe was a seminal moment in her life, and soon she was dancing with the troupe all over the world.
Zohra’s defiance of tradition in marrying a scientist and dancer eight years her junior in those times was further proof of her outlook in life, which she saw as an eternal platform for creativity, and to which principle she stayed wedded almost to the very end, acting with the likes of Prithivarj Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, and down to the famous Khans. Her zest for life will be remembered for long.
