I had learnt Katthak when I was in school. It was a Sunday ritual which I
really looked forward to. The sound of the ghungroos and the fine nuances
associated with that form always left me aghast. There was so much to learn and
so much to do. But sadly just like my other hobbies, I left this one too
somewhere mid-way and concentrated on my studies.
Cut to 2016.
A dance academy started taking Katthak classes in our very own clubhouse. I danced in joy and at home and hopped on my way to pay the fees to enroll for the classes. I imagined myself doing a lot of leg movements, circular movements and what not. The first day was cut short due to some personal exigency. The week after that was the real beginning, so to say. I was the only adult in the Katthak class. There were just tiny school-going girls watching me in awe with a question mark on their faces, what is this aunty doing here!? I tried to concentrate and adjust with the class. But there were 3-4 different groups being trained in the same time slot and I quite didn't like it. There was no individual attention and everybody was doing their own thing. It was a total chaos and I hate it when it is not properly organized and when I don't enjoy what I am doing. I spoke to the presiding madam and told her about my problem. She accepted that not everything was well in the class, but she said it will become better with time. I did not have any hopes. I asked her to shift me to the Ladies Batch held on Saturdays and Sundays at 8 am. She readily agreed and I moved to that batch.
The first day in that class also was not very great as everybody was new and we hardly knew what is grace and what is it to dance properly. The presiding madam who is a renowned Katthak dancer tried to teach us some steps which were not upto the mark, according to her. We all knew it will take time for us to open up and gel with each other and then dance just for ourselves and not to impress anyone else but just us. Then she started self-praise of how great she was and how her class is always lively and how strict she is and what not! I wonder why all big artists indulge in this boring thing, no matter what. It put me off completely. We hardly danced 15 minutes in a class of 1 hour.
The next week was taken by one sir, who taught us the steps for the famous "Navlaai majhi" from the movie English Vinglish and boy! We enjoyed every bit of learning, making mistakes, hands and legs going in all directions. He was very encouraging and he never let us realize that we are no way close to what he was teaching us. The most important part was we were enjoying every bit of what we were doing. We were having a ball of time and we were thinking ourselves to be dancing divas. We were celebrating ourselves. At that point the happiest was the soul. It was liberated and dancing as if there was no one else to watch us, judge us, pass a remark on us. We were laughing, talking to each other, encouraging each other, gelling with each other. It is rightly said that dancing is a stress-buster. It helps us relieve of all worries and tensions and teaches us to live and enjoy that very moment.
We want the sir to continue teaching us as he does not go into perfections or improvisations. He just lets us move and teaches the basic steps. All that will automatically come later once we are more confident and we move more freely without any physical inhibitions. We learn new songs, new steps and feel elated too at the same time. I wish the trend continues and we progress more and more in whatever we are doing.
Amen!
Cut to 2016.
A dance academy started taking Katthak classes in our very own clubhouse. I danced in joy and at home and hopped on my way to pay the fees to enroll for the classes. I imagined myself doing a lot of leg movements, circular movements and what not. The first day was cut short due to some personal exigency. The week after that was the real beginning, so to say. I was the only adult in the Katthak class. There were just tiny school-going girls watching me in awe with a question mark on their faces, what is this aunty doing here!? I tried to concentrate and adjust with the class. But there were 3-4 different groups being trained in the same time slot and I quite didn't like it. There was no individual attention and everybody was doing their own thing. It was a total chaos and I hate it when it is not properly organized and when I don't enjoy what I am doing. I spoke to the presiding madam and told her about my problem. She accepted that not everything was well in the class, but she said it will become better with time. I did not have any hopes. I asked her to shift me to the Ladies Batch held on Saturdays and Sundays at 8 am. She readily agreed and I moved to that batch.
The first day in that class also was not very great as everybody was new and we hardly knew what is grace and what is it to dance properly. The presiding madam who is a renowned Katthak dancer tried to teach us some steps which were not upto the mark, according to her. We all knew it will take time for us to open up and gel with each other and then dance just for ourselves and not to impress anyone else but just us. Then she started self-praise of how great she was and how her class is always lively and how strict she is and what not! I wonder why all big artists indulge in this boring thing, no matter what. It put me off completely. We hardly danced 15 minutes in a class of 1 hour.
The next week was taken by one sir, who taught us the steps for the famous "Navlaai majhi" from the movie English Vinglish and boy! We enjoyed every bit of learning, making mistakes, hands and legs going in all directions. He was very encouraging and he never let us realize that we are no way close to what he was teaching us. The most important part was we were enjoying every bit of what we were doing. We were having a ball of time and we were thinking ourselves to be dancing divas. We were celebrating ourselves. At that point the happiest was the soul. It was liberated and dancing as if there was no one else to watch us, judge us, pass a remark on us. We were laughing, talking to each other, encouraging each other, gelling with each other. It is rightly said that dancing is a stress-buster. It helps us relieve of all worries and tensions and teaches us to live and enjoy that very moment.
We want the sir to continue teaching us as he does not go into perfections or improvisations. He just lets us move and teaches the basic steps. All that will automatically come later once we are more confident and we move more freely without any physical inhibitions. We learn new songs, new steps and feel elated too at the same time. I wish the trend continues and we progress more and more in whatever we are doing.
Amen!
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