She Lost Her Leg But Is Now Steeped In Dance

LALITPUR (ANI) – Sita Subedi’s story reminds many of a Bollywood biographical movie ‘Nache Mayuri’ made in 1986, starring Sudha Chandran. Chandran lost her leg in an accident which was amputated, but she went on to become an accomplished Bharatnatyam dancer.

Subedi lost her left leg to cancer at the age of 12 but was determined to make a dance career. Her journey almost ended however, she pursued her passion and went on to become a successful dance instructor.

Growing up in a rural settlement of Chitwan District in Nepal, Sita Subedi felt it was the end of her passion for dance when one of her legs was amputated.

She faced abuse, discrimination, and disregard by her classmates and the neighbors who feared transmission of cancer from Subedi and remained far from her. It was dance that filled the void and her alienation.

“I had a keen interest in dance since my childhood. I really wanted to get into the field of dance not just for entertainment but as a stream of study and profession. I had the feeling that dance merely is not a means to entertain but a means of my life which drove me to dance academically also,” Subedi said.

It took quite a long time for her to expand her wings and take the flight to the horizon of dance.

Soon after passing SLC, she got admission to a local dance and music school in Bharatpur but had to face questions over her physical status. The instructors then questioned her ability to dance on one leg comparing her with other fellow trainees.

The dance and music institute asked her to stop coming to classes within a month of her formal joining.

It was not the first time that her dream was shattered. Born in a high caste Brahmin family, the endogamous society objected to her inclination towards dance.

” My music Guru Dhan Bahadur Gopali then suggested that I learn dance as an academic. He then directed me to the field of dancing and got me admitted to the dance class. Then after I resumed that part of my life which was stalled a long ago,” Subedi recalled.

Upon coming to Kathmandu, she joined Padma Kanya Campus in 2015 and continued her further studies of the bachelor’s level and consecutively enrolled herself in Kalanidhi Indira Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, affiliated to Pragya Sangeet Samiti Allahabad India, to learn Kathak.

After years of devotion and passion Subedi in the year 2018 became the gold medalist in dance subject. Despite going through lows, Subedi’s perseverance paid off as she has stood tall in society as an accomplished dancer that too in Kathak dance.

On top of that, her unwavering passion for dance also has made her an acclaimed dance instructor, now teaching Kathak to half a dozen students at the studio.

When it comes to proving her ability despite the “odds” directed to her physical ability by the society Subedi won the title of Mrs. Nepal International.