Have you ever seen a tired goddess? I have seen one. It was a chance meeting. On 29th November, 2024 I went to have lunch at the Taj Mahal Hotel (TMH) Abids, Hyderabad. This is one of the landmark hotels and places at Hyderabad. The food here is heavenly and has high hygiene standards. After enjoying the tasty lunch, I was sitting in the hotel lounge, enjoying the general scene around.
As if from nowhere the goddess descended, sat few paces away from me in the lounge. She was in her bright dancing costume. Who would walk around in a hotel in such an attractive costume? She is oblivious to all the curious starers. The dancing jewelry and the makeup made her look life an ‘Apsarasa’ descended from heaven. In every step, the Ghunghroo she wore made sweet melodious music. Ghunghroo are metallic bells strung together and worn on an anklet by classical Indian dancers. I woke up from my deep after lunch slumber with a start at this music, looked closely at the goddess. Initially I thought, especially after the heavy south Indian tasty lunch, I was hallucinating. I thought that it was the afternoon post lunch dream. How can a goddess be sitting next to me? Impossible. I peered at her more closely, while pinching myself. The truth is, I was, in fact, sitting next to a goddess!
A further closer inspection revealed that there is a film of perspiration on her face. This made her look like a ‘tired goddess’. Unable to suppress my curiosity, I asked gently ‘Are you a dancer madam’? With that makeup, with the Kajal lit big bright eyes she looked at me (as if it was a dance move); I could clearly see the kindness and respect in those eyes. She replied “Yes sir. Just finished a performance”.
I walked up to her to talk. What I heard made the top of my head blow off. This beautiful looking dancer is a medical doctor – Dr. Poorva Tiwari, MDS, Reader at the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology at the RCDS (Rishiraj College of Dental Science) Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Her expertise lies in providing treatment for oral cancer. That very moment I decided to write something about this great personality in my website.
I did not get much time to spend with Dr. Poorva Tiwari. How long two unknown people talk in a hotel lounge? I gathered that besides being a trained classical dancer, painter, singer and artist, Dr Poorva is a very good human being with feet rooted firmly to earth. It is my earnest desire Dr. Poorva ji to watch you perform, sing and paint live! You are one of the rarest gems. I do hope your trip to Hyderabad was a success. I shall look forward to having the honor of receiving you in the land of the Nizams soon.
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional. What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
