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Finding time to be interviewed was no easy task for Mitra Purkayastha, Artistic Director of Rythms of Dance and Music, as she keeps a very busy schedule. She is the mother of two boys, works full time and teaches and performs classical Indian dance. After a couple of quick meetings in which I was able to gain some insight into her life, it became clear that her story is one that reflects determination and talent. I also found that her bicultural world shows a balance between tradition and an openness to change.
Mitra came here in 1978 and has since learned to live in harmony between her Indian heritage and an American environment. When she first came, the transition between the world she was used to and the new world she found herself in was great. It was at times very difficult for her to adjust to such a different environment. But throughout this transition there was one thing that kept her feeling secure, it was the dancing which she so appropriately refers to as her security blanket.
"How was it like a security blanket?" I asked her. "It was security against a cultural shock. It gave me confidence and also a bridge to a new world of new friends, in a new atmosphere, in a new culture."