Interview with Ballu Thakur

Ballu Thakur is a beloved Board Member and a Hospitality and Tourism Educator

We checked in with him to talk about his passion for Nova Dance, connections between art and hope and what’s keeping him inspired right now.

What inspired you to join the board of Nova Dance?

I wanted to help give back to the community and I’ve been on a couple of boards – one was with another more work-related board, the Culinary Tourism Alliance and my wife was on an arts board with another theatre group and I think Nova actually approached my wife, and she was too busy, but said ‘my husband would’. And my first reaction was: “I don’t dance”. So, I don’t dance, but I love the arts, and when I say ‘arts’ I mean Indian-based arts – the music, the dance, the song, the instruments, everything that goes with it so I was like, ‘Sure! Let me help out in whatever way I can.’ My whole involvement in the Board has been very hands on. Give me a task to do and I’ll do it. Put together the lunch, put this together, set this up, clean this up, that I’ll do. But the rest I feel very much, not like an audience member, but I’m an observer. I give where I can and where I feel it will make the most impact, the most difference.

At a Board meeting there are times when I just walk out of there going, “wow”. It’s completely opened my mind to a completely different world. The arts world is so different in terms of not only the work that they do, but in terms of the mindset. As a Board the first thing you do is ask, ‘what are the financials’ and you sit there and try to break down ‘where is the profit margin?’. But no, with the arts it’s, “what are we doing for the community, what are we giving back, how can we enhance this,” and it is SO refreshing. It is so, so refreshing to see that – that the arts is really about ‘what can we do to help revive everybody’s spirits, to warm the soul, to bring people together,’ and it’s just so nice to be part of that. Part of me says it’s so refreshing and then part of me says “I have no idea how to do that”, so I just kind of sit back for some of that and let the creative minds do their work.

That’s what attracted me and has kept me going.

In the time that you’ve been part of the Board – about 3 years – what have you observed about how the organization has grown or changed from the time you ‘met us’ until now?

The majority of the time has been under the pandemic. But when I first joined there was all this ramping up for this great, fantastic production that was going to go national and I was so excited, as I’m sure everyone was, and then we just had to say “WAIT”. It’s been hard for all arts organizations, but for Nova Dance, I think because – and again I’m looking at it very much from a business perspective – the overhead being so razor thin… She doesn’t have a storefront, she doesn’t have a studio, so I think from a financial perspective it was very, very well run. And knowing that that financial strain wasn’t there, the focus could be on continuing to do the creative work. That, from my very non-arts background was very, very cool.

And that you can continue to do things through Zoom says a lot, that everyone involved was so committed to keeping Svāhā alive, and the spirit of Svāhā alive. It’s not just about the show itself, it’s about the whole process, and keeping that process going so that when the show actually does take place, we’re ready. And that idea of ‘ready’ is not only physically, but also very much mentally.

I think that ability to share is also something that I’ve seen keeping everyone connected, the fact that Nova involves Board members to say, “it’s not a Board meeting but come, and watch, and be part of this”. That for me means so much. I think Nova makes a real effort to make everybody feel welcome – it’s like a great big chain or this hug that we have. You’re sitting there alone but it’s like ‘let’s hold hands, let’s hug’. It’s very nice to be part of that.

Do you have an artistic practise that you’ve (re)connected with during the pandemic?

The only thing that comes even close to it is yoga. It has been so inspiring to have these Zoom classes -- what I would normally do maybe a couple of times a week I’m doing daily now because I just find it so… centring. I just feel more balanced having done yoga first thing in the morning before I start my day and it makes me feel really good.

In the evenings, I just like to listen to Indian classical music while I’m, you know, marking papers – just again, it’s very centring to spend that time. Normally I would have listened in the car to and from work, but now that there is no going to and from work it’s kind of like making time to do that here. All of the things that you had kind of a routine around, you’ve got to incorporate that into this new stay-at-home routine and remind yourself of what’s important. Music is important. Reaching out to friends is important. I have a group of friends – every Sunday at 2 o’clock we meet. And it’s just two hours of ‘how was your week’ and we talk about anything and everything.

Is there anything you’re doing specifically to cope with stress at this time?

I’m not baking sourdough bread like everybody else. I will say this: going out for a one hour walk every day has been the biggest change, the biggest new thing. My wife and I go out at the end of each day. When the weather was nice we’d go on a trail that goes into the Don Valley behind our house, which was great. But since it’s not maintained in the wintertime we just kind of do a walk of the neighbourhood on the sidewalk. It’s nice to walk on the sidewalks with the street lights there, and we’ve kept that going through the winter. Come what may, minus 8, we’re still going out there.

We do it in the evening to kind of say, the work day is finished. Instead of getting in the car and driving home, let’s go for a walk, come back home and then, “how was your day, dear?” She has her office, I have my office, and we meet in “the cafeteria” – the kitchen. And it’s just the two of us because both kids are off in university right now in Montreal. My daughter actually just left this year in the midst of the pandemic, so we’re empty nesters in a pandemic.

What is inspiring you?

My students who are able to juggle so many different things. I have not only students out of high school but I also have second career students, students who are going back to work after becoming new parents and the drive that they have to continue their studies, to make a change, to want to improve themselves is really inspiring. Because they come and they want to learn. If you think the arts industry has taken a beating, take that, multiple it by ten and that’s the hospitality industry. It’s just been whacked from side to side, up and down and inside out – so to be teaching them about this industry that has ground to a halt and still inspire them… to say, “no, actually your timing is really perfect because in two years from now when you graduate the industry will be in desperate need of you.” They remain true to what it is they’re learning and that I think is really inspiring. To not lose focus.

And if I can draw a parallel, the fact that Nova Dance was so close with this fantastic opportunity, we were going for it, making this fantastic show, getring all of these artists together and planning a tour – but WAIT.’ It’s that same kind of focus and that inspiration to say, ‘there is hope’. It isn’t the end. We’ve always got to think what we’re doing has purpose, right? To convince the next generation of hospitality professionals or the next generation of dancers and artists that there is hope. There is going to be an audience, there will be people who appreciate what you’re doing. That is very inspiring, and I believe it.

Try this delicious and cozy recipe courtesy of Ballu Thakur : Mexican Chocolate Pudding