Upcoming Bharatnatyam and Kathak dancer, Mehraj Haque (Tushar) has recently returned from Australia. Back from a dance performance in Canberra, as part of a Bangladeshi cultural delegation, he participated in another show recently in Dhaka.

The 17-year-old Tushar is currently doing his O levels at Adroit International School, Dhanmondi. However, he does manage to balance academics with dance. Currently studying under Shibli Mohammad (kathak) and Shamim Ara Nipa (folk), he is a member of their organisation, Nrityanchal. He has also completed a course in Bharatnatyam from Tajo Art under Belayet Hossain and learnt Bharatnatyam from Indian guru CV Chandrashekhar.

Tushar estimates that he has done around 100 performances. His first performance (a folk dance) was at the age of six and the choreographer was the late Habibullah Chowdhury. Tushar's traces his interest in dance to his mother Halima Haque, a former

folk dancer. “My mother initiated me into dance,” he says.

Since then, Tushar has scored many a win. He bagged the first prizes in Divisional and National categories in classical dance at the National Literature and Cultural Functions (1998-1999).

At a very young age, Tushar is widely traveled through his dance. He has performed in Japan, Dubai, Thailand, Korea, Germany, France, India and Kuwait, among others. He has taken home first prizes from India (Nikhil Banga Competition), Korea, Japan, Kuwait and Australia.

Why did he opt for dance? Tushar's response: “Like all art forms, the environment for dance is congenial. There is a great camaraderie, which attracts me to this medium.” Along the way he has developed a strong leaning towards dance. He traces this attitude to his membership of Nrityanchal, which has around 20 boys as students.

As for his long-term goals, he aspires to join the army. “I like the discipline of the army,” says Tushar.