This 14-year-old girl not only left the judges wonderstruck, the viewers too were stunned as she flexed her body at various angles during an audition of India’s Got Talent. SANGEETA YADAV caught up with this dance wonder
A lot of people from small towns and cities are coming into the limelight by showcasing their talent through reality shows on TV. One such person is Patel Pooja Ghanshyam Bhai aka Pooja who, through her acrobatic and yoga act in India’s Got Talent (IGT), left everyone wonderstruck. Dancing to the song Roundhe hai mujhko tera pyaar from the movie Pyar Tune Kya Kiya, Pooja ensured that everyone watched her ultra flexible body moves with amazement.
The three judges on the show — Kirron Kher, Karan Johar and Mallika Arora Khan — were awestruck with wonderment as Pooja showed her skills. Finally, when they could manage to speak, they not only had great things to say about her effortless moves, they also called her parents on stage and saluted them for encouraging Pooja.
The 14-year-old who got selected in the audition round, owes this success to her father who is a farmer and a yoga instructor at Kadi, a town near Ahmedabad. “My father had learnt yoga by watching Ramdev’s yoga sessions on television. When I was 10, I joined him in learning yoga. He trained me to do pranayam and various other aasanas. Soon, it became habit; I would get up at 4 am and practice yoga till 7 am before leaving for school. Even after coming back from school, I would do yoga. I practise for six hours a day. Dancing came into my life much later,” Pooja says.
It was on her father’s insistence that she took up dancing. “Showcasing yoga through dance is a difficult but very creative and an interesting combination. My father encouraged me to learn dance and enrolled me, three months back, at the Alex Dance Academy. There, Tarun sir trained me in contemporary dance and choreographed the dance which I performed in the audition round of IGT. Right now I’m taking training at the High Tech Vision Dance Academy where Nishant sir is teaching me the art of dancing blindfolded. I may do this act in the semi-final round if I reach there,” Pooja tells you.
Ever since she performed in IGT, she has become famous in her town and school. The Class IX student of Sanskaar Kanya Vidyalaya has already planned her next performance. “One has to balance IGT and studies; it is better to plan much in advance,” she tells you.
“When my teachers got to know that I have cleared the audition round in IGT, they were very proud of me and called me on stage in school to congratulate me. I’ll make sure that my studies do not get affected because of the show. It was my first performance on TV and I never thought that I’ll get such a great response. I feel more confident now and am aiming to win the final,” Pooja says.