“Dance to inspire.
Dance to freedom
Life is about experiences.
So, dance and let yourself become free.”
Dancing….how it all began
My sister is a trained dancer (Bharatnatyam). All through her school days, she was a rockstar dancer, acting as the teacher for the class dance performances. She wanted to follow her passion after many years and created a group called “Sinjini” with her friends who shared the same fervour.
She always used to tell me “Sis, why don’t you join us?” I would say, “I will not get that much time with my office work”. In my heart, I was afraid. Though I have learned Kathak for a few years, it has been 15 years since I looked that way. Mom would tell me, “You should join your Didi. It will be very nice to see both of you dancing together.”
Some of the members of her group started shifting, and the strength of the group decreased. One November evening, three years ago, I was at her house. Ma was with us then, and both of them convinced me to start dancing again by grooving to a small two-minute song. So was it! We practised together for 1–1.5 days on the song “O Re Piya”. The lyrics matched with what we were going to do.
“Aya kaha se yeh hausla re”—where did I get the strength from?
- A super supportive mom.
- Super supportive husband and brother-in-law
- Rockstar sister
- And, the kids who were feeling excited and kept encouraging us.
Lights…Camera…Action…
On D-day, we chose the sarees and accessories and decked up. My Jiju (brother-in-law) was ready with his shooting camera. We had to find a location to shoot. We were too nervous to venture out. The house terrace felt like the safest option.
The dance lasted only two minutes, but it felt liberating. It was an expression of the heart and soul. We had to take several takes and re-takes. It was worth all the effort.
The fun part was the photographs that had to be taken. We posed and posed until we were exhausted. Once done, dusk was already setting in.
We went about getting back to our daily chores while Jiju’s work started. He sat down to edit the video through the wee hours, and the end product was a beautiful one. The day ended with us uploading it to our YouTube channel.
Words cannot describe my feelings that day! For me, that was freedom!
Since then…
Since that day, we have created around 14 videos. Each one was a unique experience in itself and was so liberating.
Every video comprises several steps.
- Selecting a song
- Practice every day for 30 mins to one hour
- The choice of backdrop and location
- Selecting the attire and relevant accessories
- Creating fun shoots
- Editing the video and uploading it on the channel
Every step has its own charm and is often marked by funny incidents. Let me share one such funny story. During one of the shoots, which was happening in the evening outside the Wipro office (we needed an urban setting), a crowd gathered. They started calling up their friends to come. We felt no less than celebrities (fake ones, though!)
One of them had the courage to ask, “Youtubers, ho? Channel ka naam de do….” (Are you Youtubers?). That made our day!
Freedom from ‘inhibitions’ what will people say?’
I had many apprehensions when we started. “What will people say?” was the most dominant thought. But I soon realized that it was about breaking free from that thought and doing what I wanted to do.
My realisation can be summed up:
- Dance gives us freedom of expression.
- Very few are aware of the health benefits associated with dancing. It is a great stress buster.
- Last but not least, it makes and keeps us happy!
I am sure my mother must be smiling from heaven. This is what she wanted. To see us team together and dance. My mother must be feeling incredibly proud of her daughters.
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Thank you so much