Prayers cleanse my aura: Shiamak Davar

Shiamak Davar is a hugely successful and spiritual person. And he attributes it all to the wisdom he received through the book, The Laws of The Spirit World, which is an account of the communication Khorsheed Bhavnagari had with her deceased sons Vispi and Ratoo through automatic writing…

When did you first realise that dance is what you want to do?

Shiamak Davar:I never knew. I was always a signer-actor. I used to live out whole movie scripts in the living room of my house. I would open the curtains, play the piano and sing to entertain my family. All my life I knew would be a singer-actor, because that’s what I did. I never danced, really; I was never interested. In school, I used to do theatre and win all the singing competitions. Then Alyque Padamsee picked me up for Evita after he saw me in a musical called Greece. Then I did a cabaret, worked with Karla Singh. I was doing a lot of theatre at the time.

So when did dance happen?

Shiamak Davar: I went to London for my acting and singing workshops. Once when I was passing by the Pineapple Dance studio in London, what I saw through the glass walls interested me. So I enrolled. In my first class itself, the teacher said to me that I was very talented. She said that I danced like I was trained and that I should develop this art. So I decided to try it for fun. Over the course of my training, I realised that dance was coming to me naturally. But, I still wanted to go abroad and become a singer and actor.

How did you finally make the decision?

Shiamak Davar: During this whole process, my spiritual guides Khorsheed aunty and her son, Vispi were always there by me. I used to tell them that I didn’t want to dance or become a “dance master” as they are called in Hindi films. They explained to me that everything happens at the right time and that I needed to go step-by-step. Finally, at the age of 24, I acted on their advice. I started my dance classes with just seven students.

Were your parents supportive?

Shiamak Davar: They were fantastic. They just said, “Finish your education and then do whatever you want.”

How was it back then, to become a dance trainer?

Shiamak Davar: It was a humiliating experience because everyone made fun of me. They used to say things like ‘dancing is effeminate’ and ‘only pansies dance, boys don’t’. They called me all sorts of names. Even girls hesitated to join my class as dancing wasn’t considered “nice” 25 years ago.

During your difficult times, what made you stick to your decision?

Shiamak Davar: The knowledge I received from The Laws of the Spirit World and the love that Khorsheed aunty and her son Vispi gave me all the time in their messages to me through automatic writing. It was a horrible time but through the pain, I realised that there was a strong hand over my head that always pulled me up when I was low. Some voice would whisper to me saying, ‘Stop being stupid, don’t be insecure. Go ahead, do what you’re doing.’ Because, I was doing the right thing!