In the present age, money holds the highest position in the life of every human being. It is the most powerful piece of paper. I feel, money is power. People are judged not by their talents or their behaviour but by their possession of house, cars etc, which again goes to prove the power of money.But who does not like money? I would say it is an all powerful tool.

To me, money is a necessity. It has helped me realise some dreams. Like building our house. We worked very hard and saved every paisa to build this house, where I live and work. In the process, a few more young artistes are able realise their dreams.

Basically, I am not a shopping freak. I usually buy only a couple of perfumes on my trips abroad.I am also not into designer wear. I go for comfort and any thing that appeals to my eye in the first instance. I feel it depends on an individual to decide how to balance the display of money and rituals. Even an ordinary wedding can look like a splash of money to the have-nots.

I have never wished to be born as a Russian ballerina. And, while on this, I would like to clarify that I do not combine ballet with traditional Indian dance forms. What I do is `New Age Dance' -- modern in presentation but Indian in origin.

-- As told to Punam Mohandas

(This interview was conducted a few weeks before Tanushree Shankar's husband, Ananda Shankar, died of a heart attack.)