JOIN USFinding solace in each other
Mayuri Upadhya is a dancer of great beauty. Raghu Dixit is a
musician of great repute. The two have been married for five years now. The musician, used to teasing instruments, can’t let go of the habit and baits his wife a lot.
So how did the director of Nritarutya Dance Company and the man, who puts the verve in the Raghu Dixit
project meet? “There are three versions to this story at least. My version, her version and the truth which basically is my version,” laughs Raghu. “No, my version is true,” insists Mayuri. “We basically met through a mutual friend who was a photographer. He told me he had a shoot with some dancers. We met there. Then after two weeks, Mayuri called me asking for the photographer’s number,” says Raghu. Mayuri takes over with: “He thinks that was me hitting on him,” and the argument
continues.
“When I asked her out on our first date, she said my mother won’t allow me. So I just called her mother. Her mother was ok about it. All she said was to bring Mayuri back by 10,” says Raghu talking about the in-laws. “It was a natural progression that led to its logical conclusion,” he continues talking about how they came to being married.
Two artists living together, one wonders, what it must be like? “As artists, we are very passionate about what we do. We don’t have structured lives. I couldn’t have been happy with anybody with a regular day job, they wouldn’t have understood,” says a thoughtful Mayuri. “She gives me the strength to deal with the stress. The outside world only sees the glamour of it but what we do is very stressful. So we come back home and the find comfort in each other,” adds Raghu.
They seem to participate actively in each other’s art. Raghu composes music for Mayuri’s dance troupe and she acts in his music videos. “I take his opinion very seriously,’’ says Mayuri to which Raghu adds: “She is the first person to hear all my songs. Sometimes I’ve canned songs because she didn’t like them.”
With their busy schedules, how do they manage to find time for each other? “We have our coffee time in the morning and of course, our dinner time. If not dinner then maybe a glass of warm milk, but this time is sacrosanct. That’s our everyday dose of energy. We make sure that we take some time out in a year to go travelling. I like to go on adventures trips, he likes to go on relaxing holidays. We mix it up. Like this year, we went river rafting and then to Corbett National Park,” Mayuri lets on.
“We watch a lot of movies. We like to read. I love autobiographies and am a history buff. She likes Archies, Asterisk, books on business. Her reading is very unique. We are also foodies. 3 story’s, Hard Rock, Kyra among other places are our favourites. Eating puris at K C Das every Sunday morning is a must,” says Raghu.
The couple say that they feel connected to Bangalore but as performing artists, they find it a hard city. “As an artist I find that the City is seriously lacking in opportunities. It’s come to a point where if you want to pursue your art seriously then you have to relocate to Mumbai. Even if you say you’ll create your own opportunities then there are so many restrictions,” says Mayuri. A thought Raghu builds on with: “The babus and the law-makers are inflexible. Some of these bans are hard to understand and are tough on the artists. You need licences and permissions, it’s not easy.” Given the struggle, why did they choose Bangalore as their base? “The weather is wonderful,” responds Raghu immediately. “The City isn’t very commercial. The people here are more open to experimentation.” Mayuri pitches in. Raghu nods in agreement.