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Kalki Presents: My Indian Life

Factual: Life Stories

Kalki Koechlin looks at what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st Century.

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Kalki Presents: My Indian Life: Dancing to His Own Beat

Dancing to his own beat

03/11/2018 GMT

Dancing to His Own Beat

BBC World Service - Kalki Presents: My Indian Life, Dancing to His Own Beat

Dreams threaten to tear a family apart. The story of belly dancer Eshan Hilal

“You’ve brought me shame”. The belly dancer’s story. Dreams threaten to tear a family apart. Kalki meets Eshan Hilal.

Eshan Hilal is a male belly dancer. His family are orthodox Muslims – and they don't approve of his dancing. His friends and neighbours tease him for being effeminate. His father admits hitting him. At its root, this is a story which sets son against father. But it goes even deeper than that. It’s about individuality versus what some consider to be cultural norms.  This first episode of My Indian Life brings Eshan together with his mum to talk about their views of his life. And we speak to his dad about his objections towards Eshan's choice of career.

Produced by Geeta Pandey for BBC World Service.

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