Ignoring community indignation and
threats, the Vajifdar sisters established
themselves as Indian classical dancers
before India gained independence
Parinaz Gandhi
Quite unlike the encores with which her performances were received, when the curtains came down on the 90-year-old Indian classical dancer Roshan Vajifdar Ghose in December 2020 it was a quiet exit. The youngest of the three legendary Vajifdar sisters, she had enjoyed the longest stint on stage, had cherished her stardom when she appeared on cinema screens in a few dance numbers, and became a cynosure of many eyes as the muse of the celebrated Russian artist Svetoslav Nikolaevich Roerich whose paintings adorn many collections.
Roshan’s initiation in classical dance was at the feet of her eldest sister Shirin,......