Ever heard of a male belly dancer? A female scuba instructor? A woman jockey? With Indians increasingly breaking the gender glass ceiling,
Harish
Harish Kumar, aka Queen Harish effortlessly combines belly dancing with Rajasthani and Kathak dance styles.
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professions that were once considered the exclusive domain of one sex are being breached by the other.

Harish Kumar, aka Queen Harish, for instance, has gone where no Indian male has before. The attractive 27-year-old from Jaisalmer effortlessly combines belly dancing with Rajasthani and Kathak dance styles. I take inspiration from everywhere, he says.

Kumar walked the ramp for designer Hemant Sagar at Delhi Fashion Week in March but he has belly-danced his way onto the international circuit, accompanying musicians, DJs, event designers and dance companies.
Abroad, you are only recognized by your quality; in India, by other things, he says.

Is he unique as a male belly dancer? There is only one Queen Harish for sure, he says confidently.

Rupa, 26, is another original. Indias only female jockey, she started riding horses when she was four, which is hardly surprising for a girl whose father was a jockey and grandfather trained horses for the British Army. Rupa works with the Chennai stables of M A M Ramaswamy, one of Indias top horse owners, training as many as 15 race horses every day and riding in the races in Chennai and Ooty.

At 44kg and 5ft-5inches, Rupa is the ideal jockey and has won 110 races so far. But she admits it can be hard to blaze a trail in a male-dominated world. Male jockeys would often jeer at her. But, Rupa is now in demand.
Several other clubs have asked her to join them. Is it her novelty value? Riyaz M Khan, stipendiary steward at the Royal Western India Turf Club Ltd, Mumbai, insists riding doesnt recognize gender. A good jockey is a good jockey.

Mitali Kakkars turf is equally extraordinary. An established scuba diver and instructor, she takes peoples lives in her hands when she gives them a lesson. She says her job is deeply satisfying and she is happy that she took a holiday in Mauritius in 1989 and learnt to dive. I was initially scared, but with my instructor, I discovered a magical, colourful world under water.

Alongside her husband, ad man Prahlad Kakkar, she started a diving company in Lakshadweep and Havelock in the Andamans. She goes diving five or six times a year, mostly for documentary films but admits it can pay off to be an attractive female scuba driver. Most men are keen to learn with me, she says.

Like Mitali, Rajiv Ranjan teaches, but his students are very young. Ranjan is a pre-school teacher in Delhi, perhaps the only man in an overwhelmingly female profession. When we were young, we didnt have play-schools with so many facilities, says the postgraduate psychology student, who admits he loves children.

Why cant people accept that a man too can handle small kids? he asks. And yes, he can calm a bawling child too.

lol

I bet jatrats called "rani" and punits called "praveen " on friday night