ahmedabad it is said you get closer to your roots when you live far away a large number of gujaratis living abroad echo this thought especially when it comes to the indian dance culture the art is thriving in foreign lands thanks to the dedication of these artists who took their talents along with them while packing their bags hasita oza originally from bhavnagar learnt kathak under guru pandita rohini bhate of pune she completed her visharad from gandharva mahavidyalaya and started teaching at nritya bharati in pune since 1975 later she shifted to the usa and continued to teach in new york before establishing kathak dance academy in raleigh north carolina where she is the artistic director for the past 25 years to preserve ones classical dance in a foreign country is a big challenge it gave me a chance to rethink my culture and dance something i would not have done otherwise how to adapt without the loss of integrity of style and how to convey the exact message in different forms is something i was compelled to think once i was here oza says the distance and the unfamiliarity often become the sole reason to cling on to ones culture for families who teach these arts to their children being away from their motherland beckons them to do so says bijoy sivaram a bharatnatyam exponent and teacher in a leading arts college in gujarat first generation families in the us and canada want to inculcate indian culture in their kids this is the only way to keep them connected what is amazing is that the children are much more excited and curious than the ones back in india they take every ritual seriously and are much more aware of the art forms sivaram says from his experience of several dance workshops done in those countries minila shah whose parents migrated from gujarat bhavna g ar and ahmedabad to canada in the early 70s is a choreographer instructor and performer of various indian dances in new york she learned b h a r a t natyam from m e n a k a thakkar a legendary dance artist from toronto and kathak from dharamsibhai in bhavnagar today she has travelled and taught students in the us uk india and canada and runs bollywood grooves a popular dance school in new york the base in bharatnatyam allows me to easily explore other dance forms and teach with sound knowledge says shah what is interesting to note is that indian dances draw students from all backgrounds including other communities i get to share my culture with not only nris but with people of all communities indian culture is rich diverse and is gradually merging into the american culture much like it already has in the uk says shah chandan thakore son and pupil of renowned bharatnatyam guru elakshi thakore and kathakali dancer arun thakore feels that other countries are more eager to embrace our classical culture thakore goes for 20day