My grandma? Oh – she was a wonderful person. Yes, she too passed away several years ago. Of course, we miss both grandpa and grandma. In fact, the house was always so full of people and cheerful noises when grandpa and grandma were with us. The TV would be on at all times. Grandpa loved listening to the news. The radio too would be blaring away in one corner.
And when both of them passed away like that you know – the house suddenly seemed so quiet. It was a weird feeling. The house seemed empty somehow. My sister and I did not like it at all for several months after they passed away. But now after so many years of living on our own, we too have adapted to the change – we don’t like it if the house is noisy!
Well, grandma knew that I would run her errands or help her with the chores anytime she asked me to do so. So she would always call me if she needed help with something. No-no-no. She never yelled or screamed at me. She would shout at me when I sat glued to the TV set the minute I returned home from school. Amma, as usual, was busy working in her bank.
I was only 6 years old at that time. And I think I watched Disney shows or the cartoon network the whole day. I would eat, drink and sleep in front of the TV the whole day – yes, I don’t mind admitting it – I was the classic couch potato. And I was becoming fatter and fatter by the day. Of course, I did my homework and studied for my exams. No one had to tell me to do all that. But after that, I did nothing else but park myself in front of the TV the whole day.
So, one day, grandma insisted that I join the dance classes that my cousin was going to. She would not take “No” for an answer. I grumbled and cribbed about it for several days. And finally went there with her like a true rebel – all prepared to say that I did not like dance or Bharat Natyam or whatever that dance was called.
But she, my dear grandma knew what she was doing. Because, here is what actually happened – the minute I stepped into the dance class and saw my cousin dancing – her gestures, her graceful movements, her expressive eyes – the rhythmic music and beats – I knew something within me had changed. I too wanted to dance. And dance became my passion after that.
Today I am all of 19 years old and I feel so good when I take classes for other youngsters who are 9 or 10 years old. The credit goes to my grandma. Totally. She knew that I was physically inactive. She did not like the fact that I was putting on so much weight at such a young age. And she knew what would help me the most.
Yes, she too loved to dance and was a Bharat Natyam dancer when she was a youngster. After she got married, she would regularly attend Shloka classes and go to the temple religiously. She would take me along with her to the Shloka classes and I would promptly go to sleep in her lap the minute she sat down. She loved listening to classical music too. And would chant shlokas every day too.
My Ma often teases me saying that I have subconsciously imbibed the love for chants from all those Shloka classes that my grandma took me too. And now, whenever I break into a dance form in the kitchen or my living room – and I do that quite often you know – why? – because some music or dance form is always buzzing in my head at all time – my Ma looks at me with an exasperated smile and says – now what bhava are you trying to express? Which mudra is that? What beat are you dancing to now?
Aw, come now. I can dance whenever I want only in my home and in front of my family, isn’t it? In college, when the lectures are dry – I will start tapping softly on my table or book. I will practise my gestures under my table and zoom off to my own world of dance – and dance to the music that is always playing in my head and heart.
Today I regularly attend dance classes. I have a wonderful guru. She is in the process of setting up her own semi-autonomous dance academy. She is a wonderful woman who is passionate about dance. And I have performed quite a few group dances and even given a solo performance – my Arangretram – under her tutelage.
No, her charges are quite nominal. I work as a dance teacher in her academy itself. She pays me a small sum for each dance class that I take. Now, because of the lock-down, I take dance classes on Google Meet. No. Not Zoom. Google Meet. Yes, I’ll surely teach you how to use Google Meet someday.
Oh! I have learnt a whole lot while teaching dance too. I’m just being honest when I state this – not bragging – if my guru teaches us something new – it does not take me long to grasp the nuances.
Yes, I agree. My students may not share my passion for dance. Quite a few of them may just be exploring the field of dance to find out if they are really interested in it. But what I feel is that even if they are genuinely interested in dance, they take a long time to grasp the nuances and the steps. In a live dance class, it is easy to go touch them and make them understand what I am looking for by holding their body and showing them the movement or the gesture exactly.
But it is different in a virtual class. In fact, I really spend quite a bit of my time figuring out how to break down each step into simpler substeps and teach it to them so that they get it right. It is difficult – yes – but not impossible. The progress is a little slow but they do learn it too. Also in the field of dance, practice is very very important. But my students are so young. They don’t understand such things. Actually, they are eager to learn new steps. They get bored when I make them practise the same steps repeatedly. But they have to go home and practise the steps that I teach them too. But I wonder if they do that. What they don’t understand is that I cannot teach them the next step unless they master the step that they are practising now perfectly.
I explain such things to them patiently and lovingly. They do understand but I wish they would practise regularly. Yes, of course – I have learnt so many things by teaching them all. The most important thing that I understood was that what comes naturally to me may not come naturally to my students. At the end of the day, in the field of dance – practice alone gets us to perfection. I may have inherited my grandma’s genes – I may be able to grasp things easily in my dance class – but unless I practise I will not make any progress.
Yeah. See. It sounds like such a simple act of love. All my grandma did was force me to attend a dance class. But only I know what she has blessed me with. She has shown me a path of passion which continues to add value to my life even today. She has transformed my life for the better and I love her all the more for it. Yes, I am no longer the Akshaya I once was. You are right there.