Hailing from Mumbai initially, Pound Kakar has found Hyderabad to be her home now. For our weekly segment of Hyderabond, she discusses her allure for the city and how it has helped her professionally
Tejal Sinha
If you think of pole dancing as women gracefully twirling on a pole with soft smiles in soft lighting, well, it’s much beyond! Despite the passage of time, pole dancing remains a controversial art form, primarily acknowledged for the reasons it should always be remembered. While the elegant moves and alluring stances are still present, the emphasis should now be on the remarkable athleticism and strength needed to excel in pole art.
And guess what? There have been changes in the world of pole dancing. But you may be asking yourself, How can we be so sure of that? Hyderabad recently welcomed its first pole dance academy, according to Pound Kakar, the founder of Pole Fit Bold Fit Academy and the city has responded positively ever since.
Having been born and raised in Mumbai, her connection with the city goes back to approximately 2006, when she visited her grandfather with her family. “We were basically from Mumbai,” begins Pound during a quick chat with The Pioneer for our Hyderabond segment. “My twin sister, Dollar, and I had studied there. We were here in Hyderabad for the first time. I guess we were around 11 when we shifted here to Hyderabad. My parents had liked the city a lot more, too. Being these healthy kids growing up, we had a lot of allergies and Bombay was sort of contributing to pollution. When we came to visit our grandfather, my parents liked how spacious the city was, how the schools were bigger and how they sort of encouraged sports and other activities. I initially did cry my lungs out when we got to know we were shifting, but Hyderabad turned out to be a beautiful place.”
Without a doubt, each city possesses its own unique charm. Yet, we inquire about what sets the city apart from others, and she responds that Hyderabad’s laid-back atmosphere is what she truly appreciates about the city.
“What I have personally noticed is that people here can balance out their lives pretty well,” says the Polerina. “People here know how to balance their professional lives and also the time when they need to relax. More than anything else, this is what I love about Hyderabad. Here, it’s not about all obsessive and hustle work.”
Hyderabad, she recalls, had welcomed her with open arms during the initial days when she had started the academy. “The response has been tremendous and people have been appreciating me for what I do,” says Pound in regard to the overwhelming response and support the city has provided to her. “I have not really faced any nasty comments from anybody in Hyderabad. I might have come across them on social media, but not from people here.
Hyderabad professionally was very intrigued in the beginning and now the community has grown tremendously in the last two years. The love that the city has shown us is so overwhelming. It feels like the city was waiting for this to happen.”
Also holding a Master’s degree in Media, it was during the pandemic that she realised taking up pole dancing was the calling that she’s been waiting for. And so, it was always in her mind to bring this dance form to the city.
“But I only got confident when I got my first invert on the pole. It is a deadlift chopper, where you are lifting your entire body weight using your lap muscles and biceps and you sort of go upside down.” And then, there was no looking back as she sat down with her parents, telling them about her inclination towards it. With her parents being very supportive of her, she went ahead and turned her passion into her profession.
Well, going ahead, one thing that bombards her mind every time she thinks of the city is ‘Biryani and Haleem beside Charminar’. Ah, we are sure many of you feel it too!
As we head towards the head of the chat, Pound, for whom Hyderabad has certainly been ‘home’, says, “I love the work-life balance in Hyderabad and this could also be a drawback if they are way too laid back.
I can’t really say I don’t like that. In my personal experience in Hyderabad, it is open to new things and also safe for women as compared to other places I’ve been to. It warms up to the idea of any new activity coming up.”
