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Multi-faceted Betty Saldanha endorses practical spirituality

There’s the unmistakable poise and calmness about Betty Saldanha that makes you feel at home. She weighs her words with care and rises above the ordinary. An author, a music therapist and a teacher of Mass Communication, she straddles her responsibilities with ease.

Her book, a narrative non-fiction titled Gazpacho and the Railway Man’s Daughter draws from her own life and as she puts it, “Talks about practical spirituality for women. It’s not spirituality that is important but making it practical and raising the level of everyday and mundane to a level higher. I think it’s relatively easy to be in an ashram and meditate while others take care of your needs. As women, we have multiple responsibilities.” Gazpacho, a Spanish soup, conveys her fondness for her Spanish daughter-in-law. “The book is dedicated to her and my father. I wanted a catchy title like Gazpacho to attract more readers. My first book, Rhythms of South America and the Beats of India, was a collection of thoughts about an Indian woman in South America,” she explains.

Betty lived in South America in Peru for over a decade, taught music therapy to children at the Government Children’s Hospital. “It was one of my best jobs,” she recalls. Armed with a teacher’s degree in piano, she trained herself in music therapy. “As writers, our work tends to be static since we don’t use most parts of the body. I felt the need for movement and learnt dance. The children at Peru learnt movements through Yoga, a few steps of Kathak and Bharatanatyam and in turn, I learnt Spanish,” she says.

Now teaching music therapy to children at the Indo American Cancer Centre in Hyderabad, she says, “It’s a two-hour break for the children. I teach them deep breathing exercises, which is important for cancer children to help the oxygen reach their brain. Then there are slow movements performed to music followed by a few Salsa steps.” Soon, she will be teaching music to students of Sreenidhi School. “I shall be training them and scripting their concert for the Founder’s Day celebrations in 2009,” says Betty.

Betty holds a masters’ degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Marquette University, Wisconsin, USA. She started the department of Mass Communication at Sophia College, Mumbai and taught at St Xaviers in Mumbai and Kolkata before she edited the Lalit Kala Akademi’s Contemporary Journal. An expert at art criticism, she’ll also teach at the University of Hyderabad. “So far, I’ve done piecemeal job. Now I am getting back to writing and my husband urges me to do more,” she concludes.

SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO

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