A Kathak dancer, Aabha was passionate enough to learn it secretly. Later, she convinced her father to let her pursue dance professionally and aspires to dedicate her lifetime to practicing and teaching this art form.

Aabha Wamburkar is a classical dance artist and has been in this field for almost five decades.

Aabha belongs to Pune.

Aabha shares that she started learning Kathak at a very young age. She lived in a joint family, and the atmosphere in her family was more focused on academics and sports and was not supportive of dance. But, as she aspired to learn Kathak, her mother helped her secretly join Kathak classes and she continued practicing. She also participated in all the cultural activities at her school and played various sports.

After completing her schooling, she joined Lalit Kala Kendra. In their course, she learned everything about music, dance, and drama. She did her BA in Dance under the guidance of her gurus. Thereafter, she took admission in the Sanskrit stream and continued performing in several programmes and shows organized by the institute. Meanwhile, when MA courses started, she did an MA in Kathak from the same institute and came first in the entire university. Her father advised her to prepare for government exams, but she refused and dedicated herself to pursuing Kathak.

When asked about her role models, Aabha says that she takes pride in being the disciple of Pandita Rohini Bhate, who was among the first exponents of Kathak and broke the ice at a time when girls were not permitted to pursue dance as it was not seen as a respectful profession. She wants to follow in her footsteps. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Kathak.

Aabha’s life mantra is that all her happiness and sorrows end with dance; nothing else affects her, and she remains focused on dance.

To all those who want to pursue classical dance, Aabha advises getting involved with it deeply and passionately.