Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows; 103; Anupa Mirle interview, part 1 of 3

Q:

Anupa: Anupa Mirle (inaudible) and A-N-U-P-A- M-A-R-U M-I-R-L-E. But I’m known as Anupa.

Q:

Anupa: I—I think of myself as a Dance Educator.

Q:

Anupa: I was born in Este (sp?) Township (inaudible) in India. And that is where I was until I came to this country. So in—my entire education was done in (inaudible) Township. And I did the study to my Master’s in Chemistry.

Q:

Anupa: (Inaudible) was a very unique place because um, this was the steel revolution was just happening. India had just got independence maybe like three decades before that. And we were going through our own industrial revolution and... (PAUSED)

Q:

Anupa: (Inaudible) was a very unique place because that was the period where India was going through its industrial revolution, in a sense, we had just had independence for a couple of decades. And people from all over the country were in that Township. So, I grew up very cosmopolitan and uh, probably reflects on my outlook even today. And um, so it was great, because I am south Indian, but I grew up in the Eastern part of India so I got exposure to, not just south Indian culture but E—Eastern part of India. It’s almost like Europe. It’s... if you think about, you know, different countries, almost, that’s how India is. We have very distinct cultures in different parts of India. So, we got to experience a lot of different cultures growing up and it was, you know, it... it reflects, I think it... people who grew up in that kind of culture probably end up being more secular in their outlook and it shows in my dance, also, that’s what people say.

Q:

Anupa: Secular is um, to me, secular is non-denominational in every form where it is not just race, religion, it is also ways of thinking, outlook um, where you have come from kind of determines what you... if you... this maybe black but to somebody it may be only grey. And, so that is secular to me. Being able to say, yea, I can... I can see where you’re coming from.