While one is a reputed yoga therapist, the other is a renowned Odissi dancer. Mother and daughter Bijoylaxmi Hota and Reela Hota talk to Shrabasti Mallik about how they make for an ideal team conceptualising new ideas in dance-theatre
Mother Bijoylaxmi Hota comes up with an idea and daughter Reela, leaves no stone unturned to turn it into reality. That’s how a mother daughter relationship should be, says Reela who calls herself a “partner” in all the ventures that her mother undertakes. Although they belong to different professions, Bijoylaxmi being a yoga exponent and Reela being an Odissi danseuse, their worlds are one. That is why one will find Reela’s face on the cover pages of her mother’s yoga books. The mother also looks forward to her daughter’s advice for her books. “She is a perfectionist and does not rest until everything is sorted,” praises Bijoylaxmi and recalls the time when after reading a draft of a book Reela had blatantly said that she did not like the content. “She asked me to focus on little things and make it more reader-friendly. Her criticism is healthy for me, it keeps me going,” she adds.
The mother-daughter duo recently put together Ramleela in Opera, a collaborative musical theatrical production with the musical director, conductor and opera singers (baritone, tenor and bass) from Italy, Yakshagana from Karnataka, Purulia Chhau from West Bengal, Odissi from Odisha, Manipuri from Manipur and Kathak from Delhi. It was conceptualised by Bijoylaxmi. “It was a mammoth task to put so many different elements together but Reela was determined. She drove us crazy trying to put everything in place. That is one of the best things I admire about her,” says Bijoylaxmi.
Reela feels that in order to fill in each other’s shortcomings, two people have to be different. “They have to be dimentionally opposite,” says Reela. According to her, her mother is laid-back while she keeps an eye on everything that goes around. “I have leadership qualities and my mother trusts me with it. She has taken my suggestions in all the eight yoga books that she has published so far,” she says adding that the most memorable moments are the ones when they brainstorm together. “Two heads are always better than one,” says Bijoylaxmi.
Reela tells us that there is a certain undercurrent that binds the two. They share similar ideologies and believe in spirituality. “We share a common respect for ancient Indian knowledge and virtues and also visit the same ashram in Jharkhand. We have faith in natural healing like naturopathy, ayurveda and yoga. In fact, I am the fifth generation of yoga practitioners in the family,” shares Reela.
leadership qualities, an eye for detail and a dutiful daughter — Reela has it all. “At times she is so busy trying to get everything right, being the perfectionist she is, she takes a lot of stress on herself. She gets too worked up. I want her to take things easy,” says Bijoylaxmi. Ask Reela about her plans for Mother’s Day and she says, “Movie date with mum. Then we will have a family dinner at India International Centre.”