Tha ki ta - tha ka dhi mi: My Dance Journey

Every child has an inclination toward his or her own interests that is quite visible at an early age. I am sure my parents saw that inclination in me, and that pretty much ended up in making me participate in every cultural event that came up in my little school. The school authorities and a few other parents tried their best to bring in classical dance teachers. Partly successful, they tried to retain the teachers for a long time, but somehow, for the teachers' own personal reasons, they left within a few months of teaching. I still remember a dance teacher by name Latha, a brahmin lady, with bright patches of marudhaani (mehendi) in hands and feet. Though I was in an age that would not give me a complete glimpse of how proficient a professional dancer should be,  I was impressed with her dance movements. When I was 13 years old, a classmate of mine, by name Latha (Lathas have had quite an impact on my life!!!!), performed classical Bharatanatyam for the song "Ninnaye rathiyendru", a Bharathiar song. That performance made me realize that I did not pursue my dance fervor diligently, but I had to bury that desire deep in my heart for many reasons, the main one being board exams and big numbers! I recently happened to read a quote somewhere, "Whatever you ask for comes to you, it may come today, maybe tomorrow or even a few years later. Every detour and derailment you experience in the journey brings you back as a much stronger, knowledgeable and wise person, and you will be what you wanted to be, one day". Believe me, the day came in my life too!!

Much later, at an age in which many dancers might have actually completed a formal training in classical dance, I gave a pleasant surprise to the dancer in me! I went to Bangalore to earn a PhD. On a balmy evening, I was driving with a friend of mine in a suburb of Bangalore, looking for some chatpata snack. Suddenly, a sweet vibration struck our ears, and we had to stop. We walked into the house, introduced ourselves, and said we wanted to learn dance. The elegant teacher with a radiant smile accepted us as her students, and we soon started dancing along with kids half our sizes. We two were happy, and we soon crossed many steps and levels as we could comprehend and implement the gestures efficiently. Soon we both became the favorites of our teacher.

Guru Smt. Anuradha Vikranth

Guru Smt. Anuradha Vikranth, a perfect and elegant dancer, is my dance teacher who gave a life to the dancer in me. She believed in me, gave me difficult steps, made me perform tough talas (rhythms), and brought out that sleeping talent in me to my own surprise. I really did not know that I was capable of striking tough poses. She believed in me more than I did. Her skill and grace mesmerized me a lot. I used to gaze at her abhinayas (facial expressions and body language), the swirly movements, the imaginary geometrical lines that she drew in air, and mainly her focus and stamina! I am blessed to have been a student of such a wonderful dancer and a meticulous mentor. She took rights on me to teach me, perfect me, make me more gracious and elegant. I completely surrendered myself to her during the classes. It was a wonderful experience, and I have never had such a mentor in my life. She took me along to places where she performed, and I was lucky enough to share the stage with her. Believe me, no teacher would allow that in such a short period of time. She positively believed in each of her students and completely trusted their talents. Her warmth and smile is infectious.

She got me lots of opportunities, and I performed with my dance group in many professional organizations and temples. The best moment was when we won first place in a dance competition held in ISKCON, Bangalore. The judge came to us and asked about our teacher. When she heard our Guru's name, she said "That explains"!

While receiving recognition from the ISKCON group

The link for the dance on the day of felicitation is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diiF2mYr1ZM&feature=youtu.be

It's a five minutes video, and it gives me extreme pleasure to watch it over and over. Hope you will enjoy it too!

Kavitha, Anu Madam and me

Anu madam is highly regarded and revered among the dance fraternities throughout India. The Drishti dance festival that is held once every year in Bangalore and the Drishti art magazine that she publishes quarterly explain her commitment and dedication to art.

Drishti Dance Festival Flyer - 2014

I literally had the opportunity to see the dance school grow. I joined the school when it was a sapling, and now it is a huge tree, firmly rooted, spreading its elegant branches to identify and accompany talents. I still reside in one of its branches as a student who witnesses the various performances and the steady growth of Drishti!

Arangetram, a formal stage performance of a dancer, a day that can be held equivalent to a graduation, is one of the first accomplishments for a dancer to continue his or her journey alone. I too dreamt of it. I began the training for Arangetram, brought my parents from Coimbatore to have a talk with my Guru about the show , decided on the costumes and invitations for the D-day. Every time I consider myself lucky, something has to happen to prove that I am not lucky enough! Not that I had to pay a heavy cost for it, it has always been between choosing one of the two equally important things. Such a day came to me too. I was finishing my PhD successfully, and I had to defend. It was also time for me to begin my marital life, horoscopically! Most of you might have read my earlier post on our wedding journey. According to me, it is one of the greatest accomplishments of mine that paved way for many blissful occasions. I was confronted with an Arangetram, a thesis defense and a dream wedding! Clearly, I was in one of those crossroads of my life. Moreover, I started developing ulcer and anemia, and was not advised to perform any strenuous task.

I had to take the decision of giving up my dance journey... The most painful and regretful decision of my life!!

Thereafter, I have involved myself in different kinds of cultural performances, mainly dance to keep me motivated for dance and music. I was not able to keep up my perfection, and slowly, the grace and minute details of my dance started to fade. Now I am in a stage where I can mentally perform any step in dance, but when it comes to implementing it, I take some time to get the step and bring perfection in it! Anu madam was very particular about the costumes, make-up and hair dressing. Every time she applies make-up for me, she would stare at my dense, non-professional eyebrows! As usual, I would promise her "Next time, ma'am".

For people who have seen me strict about practice, smile and perfection while dancing - I have been trained professionally to bring out the best. I was taught to consider every stage performance an offering to God, respect to Guru and gratitude to my parents and audience. I cannot take any performance easily. I was taught to be what I am today, as a performer, by my Guru Smt. Anuradha Vikranth. It's hard for me to express my gratitude to her in words. She has taught me a deal of things, and she is the only person who recognized my talent, trusted my capabilities and gave opportunities to revive the dancer in me. I wish her the best in life!

How can any post in my blog end without thanking my better half? The other person who traveled along with me, rather guided me protectively and carefully through my dance journey is him. He would drop me in the dance school every day, and he would be there waiting for me along with little children's parents outside the school. He was there for every performance of mine and would click away pictures as if I were a celebrity! He relentlessly drove me through the narrow streets of the busy city, looking for a perfect costume. Once, I had to leave for a friend's wedding after a performance in Raveendra Kalakshetra. We were engaged by then and were traveling together to Salem. The show ended late, and we had to rush to Majestic train station. I was on the bike with my dance costume, a brightly colored face and reebok shoes (!!!). The moment we reached the platform, I started pulling off the jewelry, and he was carefully putting them in my kit pack, helped me clean my make-up, got me settled and got something to eat. An elderly couple boarding the same train had a smile on their face!

My dear friends who attended one of my performances in Bangalore

I am glad to register my thoughts here for your read. Now, those memories have been given a form and will remain here forever.