Growing up in an urban Indian household has often meant spending the evenings after school learning a dance form or sharpening one바카라s musical genes. Ranjini Nair바카라s life was no different. The Delhi-based, 25-year-old Kuchipudi dancer was inducted into her first dance class at the young age of eight, only so that she wouldn바카라t 바카라lie in front of the TV all day바카라 and would keep her limbs from rusting, according to her father.
바카라I thought on the first day I had gone for a Bharatanatyam class,바카라 Nair breaks into an amused laugh as she revisits the memory. As we occupied her room inside a sprawling government quarter in Chanakyapuri, invading a space full of books and artistic trinkets with our cameras and tripods, Nair went about getting ready for a performance as she struggled to tie her golden waist-belt. 바카라I don바카라t know why this won바카라t stay in place,바카라 she laughed.
For someone in anticipation of a public appearance, Nair was unusually calm and in cheerful disposition. 바카라My day has actually shifted a little bit since August after I started my masters in performance practice at Ambedkar University,바카라 she tells us while touching up her cheeks with some primer. Nair happens to be a graduate in English literature from Lady Shri Ram College for Women. She later also pursued a degree in PR and advertising from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in Delhi. But all along, only her stage felt like home. 바카라Somehow I found my passion within dance. But people often ask me, what is the point of dance? I don바카라t have an immediate answer always. I did try working for a while. And it바카라s not like it didn바카라t work for me, but I just couldn바카라t leave it (dance). Every time I tried to do something else, I saw that my dance would go away from me, and that terrified me. And that terror made me cling harder to dance,바카라 she says while continuing with her routine.
Nair, who is currently under the tutelage of Padma Shri Jayarama Rao and his wife Vanashree Rao, is quite a few performances and awards old. But despite all her laurels, the struggle to establish herself as a professional dancer is far from culmination. 바카라Just the other day I was thinking that it바카라s so hard to chart your path as a classical dancer, because there바카라s no blockbuster film or promotion, or any of those moments which assure you that yes, now you are a dancer,바카라 she says as she marches in to the next room bare feet. The sparkling white floor is touched with a hue of bright yellow from the sun peaking outside her window. The dancer바카라s day has only just begun.
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As Nair rushes into the cab within minutes of her performance, one is surprised to see her slightly nervous for the very first time, that too after a successful show. 바카라We바카라re already running a little late. I can바카라t wait to see the girls,바카라 she says as she quickly tucks herself into the car next to us. A smile betrays her panic, as Nair dials a number on her phone to check where the rehearsals will be held. 바카라I teach these kids as a part of Sarvam Foundation in a Vasant Kunj community hall. But I think we will be practising in the park next door today. Let me check,바카라 she says at the same moment as the voice on the other end answers and confirms her doubt. Nair has changed into a pristine white and red kurta after the performance and there바카라s now a hint of added radiance on her face as she makes her way to what seems to be her most favourite part of the day. 바카라So these girls are going to perform in Vizag and I have to do a few step corrections today. They will be on an AC train for the first time in their lives!바카라 she says as we take the final turn towards our destination.
There바카라s a spring in her feet that바카라s hard to miss as she continues to chat us up while we walk to the large, circular enclosure in the middle of the park, aesthetically shaded by a towering canopy. Waiting inside are four young girls in modest, but neat and vibrant dance uniforms. 바카라I have been teaching them dance for almost three years now 바카라they are all from economically weaker sections.
I always had a passion for my dance, but teaching them has given me a purpose,바카라 she says as the girls, all under the age of 15, greet her and don바카라t waste a second before beginning practice. As they assume their positions on their makeshift stage, Nair faces them and opens the session with the Kuchipudi pranaam 바카라 the girls follow suit in choreographed harmony, quite literally. 바카라Kal kaunsa step bataya tha?바카라 (바카라What step did I show you yesterday?바카라) the performer, now in the role of a teacher, asks her disciples. The friendly neighbourhood park for children, dogs and joggers, almost magically transforms into a proscenium stage within seconds, under the glowing twilight sun. A keen audience can also be seen assembling on the other side of the fence. The performers, however, seem oblivious to it all.
After a couple of minutes, Nair excuses herself from her girls, almost reluctantly, to attend to us. 바카라Don바카라t stop practising,바카라 she tells them as she settles down to face our questions one last time. 바카라Yeah tell me,바카라 Nair says, straightening out some creases on her kurta. 바카라Yeah, so as I was saying. The idea of the Sarvam Shakti project under the Sarvam Foundation, as started by Bharatanatyam dancer Neha Bhatnagar, is to empower young children through the classical arts, especially the girl child. Because, no matter what you say, they are marginalised. I was invited on board by Neha, and I am so glad she did because it opened my eyes to what dance can do. How many people even have access to the classical dances, really?바카라 she asks while keeping a close watch on the girls from the corner of her eye.
Ranjini Nair performs a Kuchipudi Ashtapadi at India International Centre, New Delhi. (Photo Credit: Parthiv Goel)
Being a student herself, Nair currently spends over twelve hours each day practising or studying her craft. Despite being at a rather formative stage of her professional journey at present, it바카라s this unique purpose that fuels her passion, more than material rewards or honours.
바카라The girls have already travelled to Poland twice, once last year and again this year, under the Brave Kids initiative. Isn바카라t that amazing? When I had to fill up their visa forms, that was such a challenge for me, because a lot of them did not have the documents that you need. They don바카라t have permanent addresses. So, a lot of those things that you take for granted, they don바카라t have. In a sense it바카라s good as well because they are being given a legitimate proof of identity, so you can even look at it that way,바카라 Nair says.
The immense time invested into the project comes with its myriad obstacles. However, despite her own uphill climb as a struggling artiste, Nair바카라s priorities have remained unchanged. 바카라The girls also had to be taught little things, which we don바카라t pay much attention to, when they were going into a completely new environment abroad. Like using cutlery or telling them it바카라s okay if they want to use their hands to eat and how they should be telling their host family about it,바카라 she says as she prepares to conduct the final round of rehearsals for the evening.
As the girls packed their bags and prepared to put on their shoes, we quickly walked up to them for a conversation. After completing our introduction with Karishma, Jyoti, Anjali and Shivani, we sat listening to the fascinating stories of their self-discovery in the past three years under the leadership of their 바카라Ranjini Di바카라. 바카라Pehle toh hum bas TV mein dance dekhte thay lekin jab Ranjini di ke paas aaye toh laga ke haan, hum bhi dance kar sakte hain,바카라 (바카라We had only watched dances performances on our TVs until we met Ranjini, who then made us realize that we too can dance바카라) Anjali says.
It is, indeed, a difficult prospect as access to the classical arts, conventionally, comes with a certain amount of social and economic prowess, neither of which the girls are privy to. 바카라Humaare paas itni facilities nahi hai ke hum baahar jaaye, humne toh socha bhi nahi tha ke hum baahar jayenge. Par dance ek aisa cheez hai jiske liye hum baahar jaa rahe hain aur duniya dekh rahein hain,바카라 (바카라We don바카라t have so many privileges or facilities that would allow us to travel out of the city, we never even thought we could travel out of our homes. But dance is such a thing that it has helped us travel and see the world바카라) Karishma says.
Poland was only one milestone in the month-long carnival for the four budding artistes, who later realized that they would be jet-setting to other parts of the continent as well, on their very first trip outside home. 바카라Hum jab jaane waale thay, tab waha jaake pata chala ke hum Slovakia bhi jayenge. Hum do partners thay, toh hum mein se ek Hungary mein tha, aur doosra Slovakia mein, bilkul border ke paas,바카라 (바카라When we were taking off, we got to know we would also go to Slovakia. Me and my partner were together. One of us stayed in Hungary while the other was right across the border in Slovakia바카라) Karishma explains. They are, perhaps, among the first in their entire neighbourhood or schools to have taken such huge steps with their twinkling toes.
As their dance gives them the power to already shoot for the stars, the girls have slowly, but surely, started to put their big dreams in place. While one wants to become a doctor and the other a police officer, young Shivani wants to continue dancing even after school. 바카라Abhi jaise didi hume sikha rahi hai, mera bhi hai ke main badi hoke dancer banungi, aur jin logo ko opportunity nahi milti hain, main unko bhi sikhaaungi,바카라 (바카라Just like didi (Ranjini) is teaching us how to dance now, I too want to grow up and be a dancer like her, and teach dance to the ones who wouldn바카라t otherwise get the opportunity바카라) she says, as Nair silently watches them speak from a distance, assured that she won바카라t have to play mentor this one time, among many more to come.
