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“My mother was so beautiful and talented, but she was never allowed to do anything. She was a Bengali married into a conservative Gupta family. She wanted to become an actor, but didn’t have the courage to take the risk as my dad didn’t allow these things,” Protima’s sister recalled on the Podcast Unheard Tales.
Odissi Dancer Protima Bedi.
For Protima, rebellion became a way of claiming the freedom her mother had been denied. She began making her own decisions, even when they meant defying her family.
She would sneak out at night, travel to the airport and work as ground staff for Cambata Aviation. When her father discovered what she was doing, he barred her from going out. The restrictions only frustrated her further. She began secretly participating in modelling contests, determined to build a life on her own terms.
Classical dancer Protima Bedi. Express archive photo
Her rebellion eventually became impossible to conceal. When photographs of her as a model began appearing in newspapers, her businessman father was furious and slapped her. Yet even that did not deter her. She quietly continued to pursue modelling, laying the foundation for a career that would soon make her a familiar face in the fashion world.
According to her sister, Monica Gupta, Protima’s rebellious streak was also rooted in the circumstances of her birth. Their father had expected a son, and Protima grew up feeling that she had never quite received the acceptance she craved.
“Since nobody cared about me in any case, I would rebel against everybody and everything by being a bad girl,” Protima wrote in her book Timepass. “Even in those days I wasn’t disturbed by what people thought of me.”
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From modelling to marriage: A life lived on her own terms
Protima’s determination to break free from convention soon extended beyond her career. At a time when live-in relationships were considered taboo, she eloped to live with actor Kabir Bedi. The relationship marked another decisive break from the life her family had imagined for her.
Her father was deeply distressed by her choices and eventually passed away. In the years that followed, the sisters went their separate ways, while Protima continued to build a life that defied expectations.
Classical dancer Protima Bedi. Express archive photo
She became a successful model, participated in fashion shows and married Kabir. The couple had two children, Pooja and Siddharth. Yet even as her career flourished, Protima remained unwilling to be confined to the conventional roles expected of a wife and mother.
Her reputation for courting controversy grew, with one incident in particular becoming inseparable from her public image. In a stunt that scandalised Mumbai, Protima ran naked along Juhu beach for a film magazine photoshoot. Her daughter, Pooja, was just five years old at the time.
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Protima was unapologetic about the incident, much as she was about the many other choices that made her a subject of public fascination.
The accidental encounter that changed everything
At the age of 26, Protima appeared to have everything that conventionally signified success. She was a celebrated model, married to Kabir Bedi, raising two children and accustomed to a comfortable life.
Then came an encounter that would change the course of her life.
Protima Bedi. Express archive photo
Protima, who enjoyed rock concerts and fashion shows, once walked into the wrong theatre. What she witnessed there was an Odissi dance performance. She stayed for two hours, watching a classical dance form she had not previously imagined would become the centre of her existence.
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“I saw this dance. I sat there for two hours and I knew I had come home,” she recalled in an interview with WildFilmsIndia.com.
The next day, she flew to Odisha.
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It was a remarkable transformation. The model who had once lived in tight jeans and fashionable clothes now wore a saree, oiled her hair and sought out a guru who could teach her Odissi. She was ready to begin again, this time as a student of classical dance.
But the transition from a glamorous life to the demanding discipline of an ancient art form was not going to be easy.
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When Protima approached her guru, he was reluctant to accept her. She was older than the students who typically began training, and he questioned whether she understood what learning the dance would require.
Pooja and Kabir Bedi at the condolence meeting held for Protima Bedi at Pooja’s Versova residence. Express archive photo by Vasant Prabhu
“He asked what I have learned and I said nothing. He said I was too old to learn now. I said I think I am still very young,” she recalled.
When she persisted, he warned her that becoming a dancer would require immense sacrifice. Protima insisted that she was prepared to give up anything.
Her guru then asked her to travel with him immediately. The request left her stunned. She had a husband and two young children at home and could not simply walk away without making arrangements for them.
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His response was uncompromising: “You just told me you will give up anything.”
She spent the night arranging things for her children and informing her family of her decision. Her guru gave her one final condition: she would have to reach the destination before he did. She arrived the next day.
The price of becoming an Odissi dancer
The transformation that followed demanded far more than Protima had anticipated. She left behind the comforts of an air-conditioned home, fine clothes and domestic help to live in a village where the rhythms of everyday life were entirely unfamiliar.
“Straight from an air-conditioned house, fine clothes and being pampered by servants to being thrown into a village where I would put a chatai and sleep there.,” she recalled.
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She had to learn not just the movements of Odissi but the discipline, patience and physical endurance that the form demanded.
The consequences extended into her personal life. When Protima returned home after months of training, she realised that her marriage to Kabir had changed irrevocably. The distance between them had grown, and the relationship was nearing its end.
“I realised my marriage was coming to an end. I didn’t have that kind of time to look after my husband’s whereabouts and the marriage was finished. It also meant I had to put my children into boarding school. This was something I never wanted to do with my kids. But it wasn’t possible to dance, work and look after them all at once. In effect, I had to give up on my husband and children to learn dance,” she said.
It was a painful price to pay, but Protima believed the sacrifice had been worth it.
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After three years of intensive training, she began performing professionally at around 30. The woman who had once been known for her modelling career now travelled extensively, performing Odissi in India and abroad.
“I became a great National Artist. I travelled abroad and gave many performances. That became my life and livelihood,” she recalled.
From performer to the founder of Nrityagram
Success brought Protima financial stability and recognition, but it also left her with a growing sense of responsibility. She began worrying about the future of India’s classical dance traditions and what would happen as the great gurus passed away.
“The dance was going nowhere and with the death of the great Gurus, it could be finished forever. I felt responsible that in my generation, because of my neglect, we would lose a 2,000-year-old tradition and I wasn’t prepared to feel guilty about it,” she said.
It was a familiar turning point in Protima’s life. Just when she had established herself in one world, she was prepared to leave it behind for another.
She began writing to governments, proposing a village dedicated to India’s classical dance traditions. Her idea was to bring together the country’s seven classical dance forms in one place, where accomplished gurus could live, teach and train a small number of committed students.
Classical dancer Protima Bedi. Express archive photo
Most of the governments she approached did not respond. Karnataka, however, showed interest. Thus began Nrityagram, founded in 1989 near Hesaraghatta Lake in Karnataka.
Nrityagram was envisioned as a modern Gurukul, a place where students would spend four years learning to live and breathe dance.
With support from people, including non-resident Indians who believed in her vision, Protima built the dance village across approximately 10 acres. Nrityagram also became the home of Vasanta Habba, the annual festival initiated by Protima to celebrate dance, music and the performing arts.
The financial and personal cost of her dream
Building Nrityagram was an enormous undertaking, and sustaining it proved just as difficult. Protima poured her time, energy and resources into the project, often borrowing money to keep it running.
According to her sister Monica Gupta, the pressure gradually took a toll on her health. She worked relentlessly, neglected her meals and remained anxious about finances. The responsibilities of maintaining the institution eventually became overwhelming.
Speaking on the Unheard Tales podcast, Monica recalled that Protima had suffered two minor heart attacks and was considering handing over Nrityagram because she was exhausted. And she did after the passing of her son Siddharth.
Her son, Siddharth, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and died by suicide in 1997. His death devastated Protima and profoundly affected her final years.
She subsequently entrusted Nrityagram to her close friend Lynn Fernandes.
According to Monica, Protima was never quite the same after losing him. She was struggling emotionally, and the tragedy compounded the exhaustion she had already experienced while trying to sustain Nrityagram.
In 1998, she undertook a trek to Mount Kailash Manasarovar region despite concerns about her health. Monica later recalled that Protima had signed consent forms declaring herself fit for the journey, although she was unwell. She had also given her sister a birthday present unusually early, in July, even though Monica’s birthday fell in September.
Her sister came to believe that Protima had knowingly embarked on a journey from which she might not return.
The trek ended in tragedy. Protima died in the Himalayas in 1998, aged 49. Her death came just a year after Siddharth’s death. Her remains were never found.
Even decades after her death, the institution continues to uphold her vision. Its dancers perform internationally, and its students carry forward the discipline she wanted to preserve.
Disclaimer: This article discusses sensitive themes, including mental health struggles and tragic loss. If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or mental health challenges, support is available.
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