#Bharatanatym

[jungxk]

i’m gonna say it! the way nose piercings especially double nose piercings and septum piercings have been popularised and branded as “alternative” in the west pisses me off! for rural south asians and bharatanatym dancers it’s so deeply culturally significant and i hate that it’s been turned into a marker of liberalism and/or modern fashion recently. even for me as a hindu girl i wasn’t allowed to get my nose pierced bc my parents feared it would warrant rejection from my white neighbourhood, and by the time i DID get it pierced everyone was doing it!!! bc it became a trend!!! and NOW it’s ok bc the whites are doing it right!!! i’m sick of it i’m sick of my culture and my ancestors culture being picked apart and made fashionable just to throw away until the next gimmick

[one-time-i-dreamt]

When I was little, I had a dream where there was a huge crowd that had gathered at the front of my lawn. I went up to investigate and found a car with 3 dancers inside, doing Bharatanatym (an Indian dance) in the vehicle. After a few minutes they drove away, and Santa and an elf appeared in another car. The elf, who was driving, threw Santa out of the car and Santa started placing loads of flags along the side of the road while the elf drove on.

[creative-everyday]

Sudharsana Srinivasan is the artistic director for Ragahastha Performing Arts. ragahastha.weebly.com