Protima Bedi did not believe in leaving anything to the imagination…
“Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself.” Oscar Wilde’s words seem like a stencil to Protima Bedi’s life. Right up to her untimely and tragic end, it was unclear whether she was trying to make a point to the world, or herself. Obliterating conventions was her favourite pastime. Whether it was her ‘open marriage’ to Kabir Bedi, or streaking at Juhu beach in broad daylight, or her transformation to Gauri Amma as a leading exponent of Odissi dance, she marched to her very own drummer. “Protima was always an unconventional trailblazer. Defying her ultra conservative family, she became a model. And, defying the conventions of the time, she opened Bombay’s first disco – Hide Out! It was a truly pioneering venture, a place to listen to music, dance or just chill out. It was a reflection of the spirit of the 60s, filled with the music of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Doors, the Moody Blues and all the other happening groups; an escapist time whose mantra was ‘turn-on, tune-in and drop-out’. Yet Protima never dropped out, she went on to become India’s leading Odissi classical dancer,” says Kabir Bedi.
“Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself.” Oscar Wilde’s words seem like a stencil to Protima Bedi’s life. Right up to her untimely and tragic end, it was unclear whether she was trying to make a point to the world, or herself. Obliterating conventions was her favourite pastime. Whether it was her ‘open marriage’ to Kabir Bedi, or streaking at Juhu beach in broad daylight, or her transformation to Gauri Amma as a leading exponent of Odissi dance, she marched to her very own drummer. “Protima was always an unconventional trailblazer. Defying her ultra conservative family, she became a model. And, defying the conventions of the time, she opened Bombay’s first disco – Hide Out! It was a truly pioneering venture, a place to listen to music, dance or just chill out. It was a reflection of the spirit of the 60s, filled with the music of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Doors, the Moody Blues and all the other happening groups; an escapist time whose mantra was ‘turn-on, tune-in and drop-out’. Yet Protima never dropped out, she went on to become India’s leading Odissi classical dancer,” says Kabir Bedi.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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