Art is not just a window to the soul but also known to be a great healer. Especially for Sunena Gupta, a 21-year-old dancer, who has used the dance form of Kathak not just to reach out to the world but also help nagivate her inner struggles. Sunena has been braving a condition called alopecia, an autoimmune condition, since the age of two, which causes loss of hair on parts of the scalp and other parts of the body.
The psychological distress of facing the world with bald patches or missing eyelashes is insurmountable. But Sunena decided to take things in her stride and channel her angst into dance under the tutelage of Guru Mulla Asfar Khan in Singapore where she grew up. Dance allowed her to express herself and connected her to her roots in India. It also gave her the wings to carry Singapore’s rich and multi pluralistic heritage to the United States, where is currently pursuing a degree in Politics and Economics from the University of Berkeley in California.
Her struggles coupled with her training in dance led to her first production Umeed: The Colours of Hope which has been performed in Singapore and New York. Sunena has conceptualised the show by herself, based on her personal experiences. The show aims to take the audience through her journey of the mental anguish caused by the chronic health condition of alopecia, the struggle to cope with its effect on her self-image and her journey to regain her mental wellness.
On talking about what she hopes the audience will take away, she says, “My primary goal is the social message element. I want to raise awareness on the struggle that young adults go through. It is my first production where I use my love of Kathak to tell not only my own story, but a story of everyone’s personal battles with self-image, chronic illness or mental health.
My dance production tells the story of the life of a young girl navigating her life through issues that she has no control over. In a way this is my personal journey, but is also everyone else’s journey. My event was a success in Singapore, selling out to two audiences of 550 each and was attended by distinguished guests such as H E Mr Jawed Ashraf, High Commissioner of India to Singapore, as well as the High Commissioners of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to Singapore. I’m sure it will be a success here as well,” chimes the 21-year-old.
Talking about how her dreams was stunted due to alopecia, Sunena says, “Everyone tells you that at least hair loss doesn’t stop you from doing any activities, but the reality is that you rarely ever feel emotionally strong enough. I quit my basketball team, stopped attending club meetings, and distanced myself from some friends. But thankfully, I found my dance guru who made me believe that I can get on that stage and dance despite my struggles with alopecia,” she says.
The show that will be staged across several Indian cities uses a combination poems, Sufi and fusion music. “We have used colours and seasons to denote the light and dark phases, the ups and downs that one faces in life” she says. The proceeds from her previous performances has been given to charities such as Singapore-based Project Smile and American charity Papyrus and the dancer plans to extend the proceeds for her Indian shows as well.