Sounds Of Silence!

PRERANA SAHANE, a hearing impaired Bharatnatyam dancer from Pune, has taught the society that the recipe to fulfilled dreams is just a mix of equal amounts of dedication, hard work and perseverance. We get to know more about this incredible journey from her mother and guru, who have been pillars of strength of this beautifully gifted artist.

- Sakina Godhrawala

We start off the conversation with Prerana’s mother, Ujjwala Sahane. She gets to point, saying, “When Prerana was around 6 or 7 years old, she used to walk up to the television and start dancing; she used to watch carefully and try to imitate the steps. That’s when we decided to enroll her for Bharatnatyam classes. But at that time, no one was ready to teach her.”

The very first hurdle, but one they got over eventually. “It all began when we met Shumita Mahajan, who accepted the challenge of introducing Prerana to the wonderful world of dance, even if she couldn’t hear a sound. She had found her passion, but the struggle had just begun,” adds Sahane.

There have been trials and tribulations aplenty in the young dancer’s life. Her mother goes on to narrate, “When my daughter was six months old, she suffered from a paralysis attack. She lost the power in her legs and there was no movement in her body, which thankfully she later regained with Ayurvedic treatment, but her sense of hearing was damaged forever and was beyond repair.”

Prerana is a hundred percent hearing disabled, but has chased her dreams fiercely and set an example for thousands of physically disabled children. Her mother then took up the course of teaching the deaf and dumb, and her father took up the responsibility of her dance classes. He made sure his daughter attended her classes religiously, whatever be the circumstances. Prerana has given many national and international performances and continues to do so. She also takes Bharatnatyam classes and is happily married to Swapnil, who is also deaf and dumb, and the couple is blessed with a little bundle of joy, who is perfectly normal. Both her mother and father have been teachers at the ‘Janata Shikshan Sanstha’ in Dapodi, and now after retirement, spend most of their time enjoying with their grandson.