Teaching Bharatnatyam

I have always loved helping people whether it is in school or out of school. I have done a lot of service activities outside of school such as serving the needy food and other supplies. I knew I wanted to do something which I was passionate about and something that would benefit others. I brainstormed many ideas such as painting, reading and even robotics but I concluded to Bharatnatyam.

The first thing I did after deciding what I wanted to do, I started searching for organisations or places where they wanted someone to teach for a limited amount of time. While searching the web, I came across an organization called ‘The Doorstep’. This is a non-profit organization which teaches children of migrant construction workers. They do multiple services but one of them is teaching the children. I went to a few construction sites and saw how they were and finally chose to teach at a nearby construction site close to my house.

At first, I was a bit skeptical about teaching them, because they weren’t from a great background and I wasn’t very good at teaching especially in hindi. The first class I had I didn’t really know what to do and how to teach them. As I started meeting them more often, every saturday and sunday, I got to know them better and all of us got more comfortable. I had a problem where I sometimes wouldn’t see the same students again. Every class one or two would be missing, and one or two would be new. It was hard to teach them like that because I knew who I had taught and I would plan to move ahead and teach something new. My parents used to always bring food for them before I left. I used to give them biscuits, cookies, or chips (packaged food) depending on what I had. Even though all these people I was teaching were different ages and genders, they all tried maybe not their best but they definitely tried to learn. They all found the art form interesting and all were keen to learn more.

When I taught them, I remember they used to get very happy when I walked into the class and some would try to hug me or give me a high five. That feeling was very fun because it made me want to teach them more and give my all. There were multiple times where I would get annoyed if someone wasn’t doing something right and I had corrected them many times. I would also get a bit upset when people were starting to lose interest and were starting to give up. It made me think how my teachers would feel if I didn’t listen to them or if I didn’t follow their instructions.

As I said before in the book, dance is a form of expression and people find freedom and can be themselves when dancing. The under privileged people I was teaching probably felt the same way. It was a small distraction from all they had to deal with on a daily basis. They be themselves and express their feelings through the art form. You never know what a person is dealing with inside or behind the curtains. These children will be living in such harsh conditions, and few of them maybe didn’t have parents who treated them right, or access to food and water. I tried my best to be as accepting as I could be to them, because I did not want them to feel sad or secluded because they weren’t from a great place. I wanted them to feel comfortable and hopefully learn something new which they could use to their benefit.

Unfortunately, I was only able to teach the children for two months. I do not remember their names but I do have pictures which I have included below. I taught them a dance known as natesh kauthuvam and taught them a few basic adavus and namaskaram.