ndu Mitha, who died last week, was a lonely figure, trying to express herself through a language that few understood; among those who did, many had their reservations.

She was a dancer who practised forms that had little popular appeal in Pakistan. Bharatanatyam found little ready appreciation; Manipuri and Odissi even less. Yet she continued her work with the determination of a crusader committed to her vision.

A Lahori, Mitha travelled across the subcontinent as the wife of an army officer, finding greater acceptance in East Pakistan, where her husband was posted for longer periods. The cultural atmosphere in the early years after Partition was less conservative. This allowed her to make some inroads by convincing those at the helm of the importance of cultural inheritance.

The forms she practised were highly stylised and belonged to traditions that had lived and evolved over centuries. In Pakistan, Kathak was the only dance form widely perceived as classical. Some early attempts to sketch the country’s cultural profile gave it a place by tracing its connection to Oudh and Lucknow and pointing to its wider cultural significance.

But classical forms, much like classical music, needed greater support from the cultural establishment, and that support was scarce. The vacuum was filled by the dance numbers people encountered at the popular level, mainly in Pakistani and Indian films.

The forms she practised were highly stylised and belonged to traditions that had lived and evolved over centuries.

Even dancers who practised Kathak found it difficult to survive. Some moved abroad, where they found greater warmth, particularly among the growing South Asian diaspora, returning to Pakistan only as visiting artistes.

East Pakistan had a more syncretic cultural character. The strength of tradition allowed people there to appreciate a wider range of forms. In the western wing they often engaged with them only externally. Dance therefore survived less as cultural expression than as entertainment.

After the Bhutto era, when private schools began to take over the provision of quality education in Pakistan, some introduced classical music and dance as extracurricular activities. Dancers such as Mitha, along with other highly skilled practitioners, found a regular platform.

The lack of performance opportunities was partly compensated for through teaching. Through pedagogy, Mitha passed on the significance of cultural expression to a younger generation and challenged the prejudice against dance that had become almost a given among the middle classes in much of Pakistan.

The loss of East Pakistan and the death of her supportive husband only added to her resolve. Until the end, she performed, wrote and spoke about the need to preserve dance as an essential part of cultural expression.

Because of her, many people came to appreciate forms of dance that might otherwise have remained outside their cultural imagination.

The writer is a culture critic based in Lahore.