Flight of Freedom

On 15th August, Indians all over the world celebrated India's 60th year as an independent country. As far as I remember, that day was just like one of the other days when I woke up late because I slept late the night before, and pretty much spent the rest of the day in a trance because of my messed up sleep cycle... :<

That day, I recalled how my dad and I, among with countless other families, used to fly kites every year at this time; and I was the happiest little girl around because "my papa's kite is flying higher than yours!!!" Among other things, he is really skilled at that. (It is a tradition to fly kites on 15th August in India, just as it is to light fireworks in the U.S.)

However, this weekend, we visited some of our friends in North Augusta, S.C., and we all went together to celebrate Independence Day (late, of course) along with the Indo-American Cultural Association of America. We reached about half way through the program, but I think we were extremely lucky to be able to make it on time to watch a spectacular Bharatnatyam performance by Articulate India. If you visit their website, you'll know, that among other things, one of their aims is to perform their dance for a spiritual experience. The 'Ganesha Stuti' and 'Jai Janaki Jai' were the two dances performed by five men that day. The unbelievably amazing fact is that four out of those five dancers were blind, but no one could have known that by judging their performance that night, unless it hadn't been already told to us. Those who have no knowledge about classical Indian dances must know that they use extensive facial and and hand expressions along with foot tapping. To learn all this and be able to reproduce in front of large audiences with the same talent as that of a person with no visual impairment requires a great deal of strength, determination, and perseverance. Every time I watch another graceful Bharatnatyam performance, I feel great knowing the fact that people use dance as a true form of expression and to get in touch with their innermost selves... :-)

Kudos to them.