A classical dancer and institute owner, Rekha, with support from her mother, started learning dance at a young age. Her talent took her to bigger stages, and she met renowned artists, which eventually opened the gates for her to start her own dance institute.A classical dancer and institute owner, Rekha, with support from her mother, started learning dance at a young age. Her talent took her to bigger stages, and she met renowned artists, which eventually opened the gates for her to start her own dance institute.

Rekha Satish Nadgauda is a Kathak performer and founder-director of Kirti Kala Mandir, which has been running for the past forty-seven years.

Rekha is from Nashik and says that Nashik did not have a supportive atmosphere for classical dance in her days. However, when she was eight, her mother got her into the classes run by Ustad Haider Shaikh, and ever since, her interest in dance increased manifold.

When she was fourteen years old, her performance was noticed by Natraj Gopi Krishna, who suggested she go to Mumbai to further pursue dance. For six years, she studied under the Guru-Shishya parampara and also continued with her studies.

Rekha says that her mother always supported her dance, even in the times when dance was not considered an honorable thing to do. She used to advise her not to tell her grandparents about her dance practice. Her mother always thought that her daughter should not lament missing out on something in future just because her mother did not support her.

Rekha trained under Natraj Gopi Krishna from 1969 to 1975. After that, in 1976, she started her own dance institute in the same school premises where she learned dance. She says that initially it was tough getting students, and she used to go to different schools and take free sessions to get her institute some popularity. It was after five years that she started getting students.

Talking about mistakes, Rekha says that she had a good friend circle, which prevented her from committing any mistakes. She further says that two of her teachers, Kumud Abhyankar and Radhika Raj Pathak, supported her a lot. Kumud worked with Rekha, creating music for her, for twenty-five years.

Rekha says that Radhika wrote a Marathi version of the Swan Dance, which was a Russian ballet, and she did the choreography for it. Radhika also created a three-hour show on Ramayana in 1984, and they together did sixteen shows of it in Nashik itself and also performed the same in Mumbai and Pune too. Rekha says that it was Brij Narayan who insisted on performing the show in Mumbai, and he also wrote to Sitara Devi and Sachin Shankar to come and watch the show, which, to her amazement, they did and appreciated the show after watching it.

Adding to her journey, she says that a famous Jnanpith Awardee poet, Kusumagraj, requested that she perform one of his Marathi poems, which she agreed to. It was watched by the manager of Doordarshan, Vijay, who loved it so much that it was played on the day Kusumagraj received his Jnanpith Award in 1989.

Talking about her life mantra, Rekha says that she has always made it a rule to maintain punctuality, discipline, and quality at her institute. She has never missed attending her institute even for a day in forty-seven years; and that is what she is really proud of.

When asked how she beats stress, Rekha says that she always keeps her work worries out of her home and her house troubles out of her work. Her dance gives her peace, and she always tries to dance no matter what the situation may be.