Dancing his way through Challenges
In the beginning Masih practiced on his own, he used to watch dance performances on TV and try to replicate the dance moves in them, but practicing alone was taking him nowhere. So he searched for a good teacher in Islamabad who could teach him how to dance, but found none.
With no clue on how to continue further on the path which he had chosen for himself, Masih decided to go to Lahore to look for a dance teacher named Rashid Bhatti. Masih had heard Bhatti’s name from a lot of people and wanted to learn from him.
About 23 years ago, Nasir Masih used to spend his days sewing clothes and getting training in martial arts. His destiny changed when he saw a dance performance by a group of boys at a wedding. The performance inspired Masih and he started practicing dance along with tailoring and martial arts. He was only fourteen when he discovered his new passion.
He left home without telling anyone and boarded the train for Lahore from Rawalpindi. He was only 15.
Asking his way around in the crowded city of Lahore, Masih reached Bhatti’s home. Upon knocking the door a six-year-old boy came out and told Masih: “papa abhi abhi kam pay gae hain”. Masih was determined to learn dance from Bhatti. He decided to wait for Bhatti in front of his house so he could meet with him when he comes back.
At seven in the evening Bhatti returned to his home. Upon Bhatti’s arrival, Masih stopped him at the door and told him that he had come all the way from Islamabad to learn dance from him. Bhatti, who was already tired from the work just told Masih to come to the dance academy the other day.
Masih went to the Data Darbar to spend the night, the only place he could stay for free as he had not much money in his pockets. The excitement of the first class kept him awake the whole night and he waited impatiently for the next day.
At four in the afternoon the other day, Masih went to the dance academy located in Mozang Chungi. Bhatti told him to sit in the corner and watch the sessions. This continued for fifteen days, but Masih patiently waited for the moment when his teacher would call his name for the practice. Masih respected his teacher so much that he could not utter a single word in front of him and did what Bhatti instructed him to do without asking any questions.
One day while Bhatti was busy with his other students, a girl pointed towards Masih and asked Bhatti “why don’t you teach him, he has come from so far away and you just make him sit there in a corner.”
To this Bhatti responded by telling Masih “jao mithai lay kar ao.” Masih complied and went to the bazaar to buy sweets. He found a shop but had no money in the pockets of his jacket. He paid for the sweets with a pair of jacket and promised to return soon with the money.
After eating the sweets Bhatti tied a thread on Masih’s arm and started teaching him.
Masih’s teacher was testing his patience through all this. Bhatti was making sure if Masih had the forbearance that dance takes. When he became sure of it only then he started Masih’s training.
At the end of the first training session Bhatti asked Masih if he had some place to stay. Masih replied through silence. Seeing Masih’s response his teacher offered him a place to stay in the academy and also provided him with food.
The academy was small and the bathroom had no place for bathing. There was only one tap
and Masih had to fill a mug multiple times to take a bath. He spent two and half months like
this, but at least he had a roof above his head, food to fill his belly and a good teacher to learn
from.
After completing his training with Bhatti, Masih decided to return home to Islamabad. He was
going back after two and a half months and was anxious about the reaction of his parents
and family.
On Masih’s arrival, his parents heaved a sigh of relief that their son is back home. But the
minute they knew that he ran from home to learn dance, his father turned red and Masih
knew that he is in trouble. Masih's father tried everything from tying him to a tree in chilly winter evenings to beating him, but he refused to give up on his dream.
Masih parents did not consider dancing as a respectable profession. They were unhappy with Masih’s decision of becoming a dancer for a long time. However, this disappointment ended when Masih’s parents saw his performance for the first time on PTV. They felt proud of his performance and accepted their son’s decision to become a dancer.
Other than his own parents one other figure who could not accept Masih’s decision of becoming a dancer was his best friend Javed’s father. He could not tolerate Masih’s presence around his son and he used to hit Masih and Javed with anything that he could get his hands on whenever he saw them together.
Despite all the hardships, Masih formed a dance group with his best friend, Javed Waris and some other boys. They named the group “Andaz Dance Group”. He taught his friend and the other group members all that he had learnt from Bhatti in Lahore. Masih and the boys worked hard and did many performances at weddings and TV shows.
Masih’s hard work and commitment paid off when Indu Mitha, a pioneer of Bharatnatyam, took him as her apprentice. She taught him Bharatanatyam and Kathak for eleven years. Not only did Indu Mitha help Masih polish his skills of classical dance, she also aided him financially.
Masih’s growing popularity got him to Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). In his audition at PNCA he showed Kathak Tatkar brilliantly and got selected immediately among seventy boys competing against him. Getting selected in PNCA provided Masih many chances to perform nationally and internationally.
Nasir Masih during his performance in China.
Masih has been teaching and performing at PNCA for the past 13 years, but still does not earn much. He cannot work privately as it is against the policy of the institution, and the salary alone is very less to raise a family of one wife and three children. Masih has long dreamt of doing something for the well-being of his colleagues, but his financial situation always holds him back.
In 2016 Masih thought his time in the world of dance had finished, when a deputy director accused him of secretly working in private. He got sacked from PNCA and sat home idly for one year.
After the appointment of Jamal Shah, as the new Director Genral of PNCA, Masih’s fate took a turn for the better. Shah got his files reviewed and got him the long due justice. On Jamal Shah’s request Masih joined PNCA again in 2017 and has since been teaching and performing many forms of dance there.
Nasir Masih performing with his colleagues at PNCA.
Masih has been in the field of dancing for almost two decades; still he has not been able to convince his relatives that there is nothing wrong with singing and dancing. He wanted to teach his son violin, but received bitter reviews from his relatives who said that do not bring your children into this profession that you have chosen for yourself.
Such negative responses disheartens Masih. He sees the lack of true understanding of dance as the reason it is viewed as a demeaning profession in our society. He thinks that this mindset of the Pakistani society regarding dance is very difficult to change.