Happy Birthday Astad ❤
“A boy was born on 13th July, 1947, in Navsari, Gujarat, to Roda Aderbad Deboo and Aderbad Shapurji Debu. He was lovingly named Astad, from the Parsi calendar, meaning a beacon, leading like a star.”*
True to his name, Padma Shri Astad Deboo, shone bright, transcended boundaries, unified people, spread happiness and represented freedom of the soul. Till his last breath, Astad believed he was still exploring.
This post is dedicated to his magnificent flair for textiles, style, fashion, colours and his experiments in their fluid transition in his unique style of Indian contemporary dance.
During the research for the retrospective exhibition on the life and work of Astad Deboo, we came across this article on the fashionista from the Debonair magazine from 1972 😊
Did you know that as early as 1986, French couturier Pierre Cardin commissioned Astad Deboo to choreograph a piece for the legendary prima ballerina of the Bolshoi ballet company, Maya Plisetskaya of Don Quixote, Swan Lake and The Dying Swan fame?
He worked with some of India’s most important designers throughout his life and their amazing contribution to his choreography are timeless: some of them are Archana Shah, Bandhej, Ashdeen Lilaowala, Ashdeen, Krishna Mehta, Monica and Karishma Shah, Jade, and Sandhya Raman.
It was great to know when we heard that “Padma Shri Astad Deboo put up a unique performance symbolising the aura of the temples of Hoysala, the inspiration behind Jade’s 2014-15 collection by Monica and Karishma at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2014.”
Monica Shah, Jade
It was in 2014 when we had approached Astad Deboo to open and close our fashion show with a performance. After the show, we continued to collaborate, and designed costumes for him. He loved his flares and loved to twirl. He understood dance, and using the art form, he defined costumes by how they moved through space, and reacted to motion. That connection between movement and garments made our collaboration beautiful.
Working with him was deeply moving and inspiring on account of his love for Indian craft. He believed himself to be an ambassador of India’s culture, and wanted the ensembles he wore to reflect this. Designing for him was a learning experience.
(https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/dance-like-a-man-23182258)
This loving tribute is from Ashdeen Lilaowala, Ashdeen
My first memory of Astad Deboo is seeing a photograph of him taken by ace-photographer Farrokh Chothia. In it, he was posing in a blue leotard, framed by dancers in flight dressed in vibrant yellow dhotis. At the time, as a student at NID, I had cut this photo out from the magazine and pinned it to my vision board at my hostel room— you see, in those days we didn’t have Pinterest.
A few months later, I heard that Astad was going to perform at NID. When the day of his performance arrived, in true Astad-style he performed in NID’s open amphitheatre with the iconic monument in the background. In the midst of his performance, Astad started to climb the monument. Momentarily he stepped on a loose brick and slipped. A collective gasp was heard from the audience but Astad continued to dance gracefully completely undeterred. I remember running back to my hostel room to retrieve that photo of him from my board and getting him to sign it.
Eventually, I had the privilege of getting to know him through my dear friend Kharmeen in Bombay. Soon, I shifted to Delhi and would often get a phone call from Astad, his deep voice saying “Kem chev Ashdeen?” One of Astad’s greatest qualities was that he always stayed in touch with people he met all over the world. Whenever he was in Delhi and we would meet up for tea or coffee and he would enthral me with stories of his travels. Of the time he, as a young artist with the aim of meeting and learning dance from the legendary Martha Graham, set off on a ship and then hitchhiked across Europe, travelling and learning dance from different people he met. He undertook a similar trip across South East Asia. These stories of his sense of adventure, resilience and dedication to his art always inspired me.
Another performance of his that I remember fondly was staged at NGMA, Bombay where he danced across different floors around the spiral staircase. His parents were in the audience proudly watching their son perform. He had an unabashed sense of Parsiness about him which, I think, he got from his mother. Meeting her confirmed that Astad also got his joie de vivre and zest for life from her.
My favourite anecdote, I always remember with a smile is of the time Astad as a globally renowned dancer visited Bombay Parsi Panchayat BPP office with his father for elections. While his father casted his vote, a group of Parsi ladies who had been sitting bored since morning recognised him and casually asked him, ‘Mr Deboo jaara dance karene dekharo ni!’
Astad was a great supporter and was always willing to help. When my label was nascent and i didn’t want to spend big money on couriers, Astad often carried heavy suitcases full of saris across the country.
We collaborated to create some of his stage costumes. My favourite one sported large crane motifs that were designed in such a way that every time Astad would start famously twirling (he’s known to wing in 300-400 of them in a single performance) it would appear like the cranes had taken flight. In this way he breathed life into the costumes.
I have to be honest, I didn’t always get his dance, but I was mesmerised, like everyone else, by the gentle movements he used, graduating to his signature fast-paced twirls, blending classical Indian dance forms with modern ones, evolving it into his own unique language.
Astad’s dedication didn’t dim as he got older and he continued performing through his 60s and 70s. He also retained his precious sense of humour and endearing straightforwardness. He danced in front of kings and queens and, fittingly, danced with many queens. I imagined that one day, in the midst of one of his performances the heavens would open their arms and welcome him and he would levitate into the skies twirling and even though that didn’t literally transpire, I am sure he is dancing with the Almighty today.”
To honour this loving, brilliant and astute talented spirit, Avid Learning is hosting a panel discussion called ‘Dance of the Textiles’ at NGMA, Mumbai, on 3rd September 2024. Panelists are: Monica and Ashdeen, moderated by me, Poulomi Das. We will learn about Astad’s passion for Indian textiles and fashion impacted it and the personal stories and anecdotes from each designer… do join us, thank you 🙂
Asad Laljee, CEO, Avid Learning and Curator, Royal Opera House, Mumbai, admired Astad and hosted Astad’s last performance on stage before the Covid Lockdown and Astad’s passing away in 2020. Link here: https://youtu.be/ONPxCumOEc4?si=tQPLrFRu9ASa__TG
Asad visited the exhibition on its preview on 9th December 2022 and it touched him so much that he returned with his team from Avid Learning and I had the honour of giving them a special tour of the exhibition. Though Astad was one of my 3 childhood heroes, I had seen his performance only once in Delhi and listen in awe of those who knew and worked with him about his vivacious nature and incomprehensible love for dance.
A few months back, in a discussion with Asad and his team I mentioned how I had been captivated with Astad’s love and knowledge of textiles while researching for the exhibition and immediately Asad suggested this event – that’s how much of love people still have for Astad!
We will share the details of the event on social media, do join us on 3rd September.
* from ‘Breaking Boundaries’ – A retrospective on the life of Astad Deboo: a journey through his time, work and vision. Curator: Poulomi Das
Photos of Astad Deboo: Ritam Banerjee and Neelesh Kale – thank you for giving permission 🙂
Those with Asdeen and Asad, shared by them.
Articles on the retrospective:
https://www.rediff.com/news/special/celebrating-astad-deboo/20221210.htm
https://www.ianslife.in/culture/retrospective-life-astad-deboo
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