MEGHA ARYAN, OP
Bubbly, quick-witted and free-spirited Mehr Chahal excels in Odissi and has shown early sparks of brilliance at the tender age of eight.
The eight-year-old Odissi dancer jumps excitedly from the couch to explain the meaning of her name. “I’m God’s blessing – Mehr Chahal,” she says. Her mother, Namrita Chahal, on the other side watching her daughter’s confidence, nods before saying: “Yes, she is a blessing”.
In her three years of dancing career, Mehr has bagged several awards and appreciations both on the national and international level. Her expertise in the Guru Pankaj Charan Das Gharana Odissi dance form is impeccable. And it helped her secure a place among the top 10 talented contestants in Odissi International Festival, 2016. She is trained under Guru Pallavi Das in her academy, Guru Pankaj Udra Sanskruti Academy. A student of Loyola school, Bhubaneswar, Mehr has won many dance competitions in school and at the state level. A few of her achievements include last year’s solo performances at the Nrutya Naivedya Odissi Utsav, Punjabi conference dance competition and Guru Pankaj Charan Das festival. She was felicitated with the Guru Pankaj Charan Das Prativa Puraskar this year.
“She (Mehr) is one of my special students, who is blessed with the talent to dance like professionals; she only needs a little guidance, that’s it. She learns quickly, I don’t have to keep training her on one step for too long. She is not a quitter; she works hard and learns from mistakes. It is worth the effort to train a talent like her. This is just the beginning of her career; she has much more dance left in her,” says Mehr’s guru.
Mehr’s proud mother says: “It is always awesome to see her perform. She was in UKG when for the first time she performed on stage in a school function. I was in the crowd to cheer and support her, but what made me feel proud was the way other parents appreciated my daughter’s performance. I was not the only one who was witness to her talent, there were many.”
“I wanted her to learn a traditional dance form because I believe that the more we know our culture, the more grounded we become. It is very important to learn and respect every religion and its c
ulture. I pushed her into dancing at first, but eventually she started growing an interest in it. So, we decided to give her a proper training in Odissi and the rest is the outcome of Pallavi madam’s effort. She made Mehr a dance icon,” she adds.
Mehr’s younger sister, Zaara Chahal, is keen to dance but refrains from wearing make-up. She hangs around her elder sister and keeps throwing tantrums whenever daddy, Jaspinder Singh Chahal, is back home from work. Mehr is totally a mumma’s girl, contrary to Zaara, who clings to her ‘fun dad’.
Jaspinder Singh is mostly out of town for his work, but he tries not to miss the chance of attending shows
when he is in town. He says: “Mehr and Zaara have filled our lives with happiness. I couldn’t ask Waheguru for more, he has given us everything. Mehr is really talented. She has always proved her mettle in academics as well as in dance. I feel proud that at a tender age she has achieved so much.”
Mehr is frank in sharing her dreams and ambitions, “I don’t know how to be a scientist, a dancer and a veterinarian at the same time. But I would love to be all. I’m confused at this moment.” She asks her mother, “Can I become all of them at once?” Her mother laughs and says: “No”. Mehr resumes, “I love dancing, but I also want to act like Alia Bhatt. I love to paint but I am not very good in it; I’m still at the drawing level.”
“Mehr is unstoppable when she talks,” her mother says, to which Mehr pokes her and replies: “I’m just good in continuing conversations, not starting them.”
Apart from dancing, the chubby Punjabi kudi loves to read herself to sleep. J K Rowling is her recent favourite, to whom she took a shine to after reading part I of Harry Potter’s collections. “It was happening before my eyes, as I read the book. The second part of the collection is a bit scary, so I have closed it for now. I will read it later,” the Class III student says. Among her other favourites are Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton. Mehr has written an article titled “Say no to crackers” which was published in a children’s magazine this year.