When we begin our conversation, he has just gotten done with a shoot. Still, he approaches our conversation with more energy and enthusiasm than I could ever give him credit for. Vinayak Ghoshal is, indeed, a rare individual, able to find happiness in the tiniest of things. He speaks eloquently, dances beautifully and, perhaps, most importantly, he teaches passionately. Founder of the celebrated ‘Natya Social’, Ghoshal has a wealth of experience behind him, things he has learnt and grown from, and he is, in point of fact, quite happy to share that with you.
Born in the bustling metropolis of Mumbai, Ghoshal reveals that dance was never more than a hobby, originally. Yes, it was something that he loved doing, sure, but he never truly saw it as his calling until much later in his life. Initially, having pursued a degree in Mass Media, he was deeply passionate about pursuing a career in the field of Journalism and Advertising. As he explains, when pursuing his bachelor’s degree, he felt especially drawn to the field of Advertising, realizing his interests lay in creating and conceptualizing content that was aimed towards the masses.
Parallel to this, Ghoshal, known for his choreography, owing to his lifelong passion for dance, was regularly engaged in teaching classes for students from his school. And while the pay wasn’t anything spectacular, as he, himself, says, it was enough to keep a college going kid happy. Even so, noticing his aptitude for instructing others in dance, the parents of his students regularly extended invitations for him to come and teach them a choreographed set during ceremonies and events. That, he explains, further supplemented his earnings when he was attending college.
When college got over, however, Ghoshal found himself faced with the need to find something fast. And, while he worked in a few places as an intern, he never found it to be rewarding enough. It was during his time, working as an intern, that he also discovered that he was dyslexic. Faced with the idea of not being able to work in the industry that he was so in love with, Ghoshal took up a job at Haptik. Soon enough, a friend of his brought a certain opportunity to his attention. An established director was putting up a musical in Delhi and needed an assistant choreographer to help with the dance routines in the play. Ghoshal jumped at this chance. After all, this was something he loved doing.
“The director had told me that he would give me a job after the project and things would work out.”
Vinayak Ghoshal
However, when the musical was over, despite having been promised a continuing collaboration with the director, Ghoshal was dejected to realize that the ‘promised opportunity’ was never what he hoped it would be. He was told to look for work on his own and if there was any need for him, later, he would get a call. Ghoshal had left his job for this.
Never one to sit still, Ghoshal took up a job at an international call centre, where he spent the next eight months, working diligently. It was only when he saw the movie, ‘Tamasha’, that he drew parallels between his life and what he had just seen. He wanted more, needed more from his life. Doing some self-searching, Ghoshal realised that he had been blind to something that was ever so apparent to him: All his life, he had been in love with dancing. His real journey began then.
Throughout the conversation, I got the feeling that Vinayak Ghoshal is not the kind of person to do anything in a half-hearted manner. And, for once, I was right. Ghoshal threw himself into building the foundations of his craft without any reservations. He went on to enroll himself in dance classes, while simultaneously working as a dance instructor, himself, for school-going children. While searching for tracks to set his instructional routines to, he stumbled across the world of content creation around dance on YouTube. To be frank, as he admits, he never paid much attention to it then. It was only when one of his teachers wanted someone to help a certain creative team, for a choreographed set, that Ghoshal understood that there was a whole market revolving around choreography around Bollywood tracks. That creative team was ‘Team Naach’.
His experience with Sonal Devraj and Nicole Concessao of ‘Team Naach’, coupled with the constant urging on their part, emboldened Ghoshal to start his own YouTube channel. Working diligently to establish himself in the field of dance, he made it a point to only invite Sonal and Nicole to work with him on a video once he had crossed a certain threshold of followers on his channel. That is how ‘Natya Social’ actually began.
As Ghoshal dives into discussing his journey, he recalls the reception that his choreographed set for ‘Mitwa’ garnered. The response to that video was so positive that Ghoshal found the workshops that he held to be absolutely booked to capacity. ‘Mitwa’ holds a special place in his journey, with it being the first video, of the many to come as of then, to be met with the recognition that he, truly, deserved.
Even so, Ghoshal believes that hanging on to the idea of a singular aspect of dance is not conducive. In fact, he believes that dance, as a creative art form, is consistently evolving. And this is especially important for him as a dance instructor. As of now, where the idea is to go for as large as an audience as possible, it becomes especially challenging to navigate a world where some pursue dance merely to garner a following. And, while that is never something that Ghoshal is hesitant to acknowledge and appreciate, keeping the idea of relevance and your intended audience is what he prioritizes.
Speaking about priorities and future goals, when asked about what his next steps are, Ghoshal surprises me with his response. Over the years, he has gone to build and set in stone, figuratively, of course, a world where he has been able to reach out to a massive audience, teaching and imparting his own knowledge and passion for dance as an art form. Now, as he reveals, he looks to start something new, hinting at a new channel for markedly different content. Don’t panic. Dance is an irreplaceable part of his life and I am sure he will not be able to bring himself to completely leave it behind.
“We are not sure about what we are going to do on that particular new channel. It can be anything.”
Vinayak Ghoshal
Ghoshal has had a tremendous journey, punctuated with highs and lows. He has persevered through it all, fighting against whatever was thrown at him. However, when asked about what he is especially proud of, he, bluntly, states that there is nothing he is proud of. Don’t get me wrong. He has accomplished a lot, from getting ‘Natya Social’ officially registered as a company to practically building an empire. However, as he goes on to explain ‘Everything is temporary’. Your successes and failures are, both, temporary. It is crucial that you look forward to the next experience while enjoying the process of it all.
If there is one thing that he would want you to take from this whole thing, it would, perhaps, be this. You see, he is not going to talk about consistent practice, perseverance or hard work. As he states, that is already an established notion. What he stresses on, however, is kindness and compassion. Be nice to those around you. At the end of it all, your journey won’t matter much if you look back and see that you have left a trail of people you have been unkind to. And, when he looks back, you can be absolutely positive that Vinayak Ghoshal will only see the smiles and laughter he has helped bring about.
