Take Up Space, You Belong!
It was July of 2011. I was standing in front of 2,000+ people at Grant Park, Chicago. As I looked around, I could barely see the crowd that had now overflowed into the grassy area beyond the dance floor.
I put on a brave smile, nodded to my team of dancers, and began our show. For the next hour, we took the participants through a completely joyful immersion into Bollywood dance. We got their hearts racing and their faces smiling. The next morning, someone sent me this picture. We had made it in the Chicago Sun-Times!
If you had asked me 6 months prior to that date if I would get such an opportunity, I would have probably said no. I had moved to Chicago the year before and knew exactly, wait for it… ZERO people in all of Chicagoland. I had no friends, network, or connections.
While I was trained in classical dance, that’s not what I taught or performed. So not only was I unsure of my status in the larger artist community in Chicago, I wasn’t even sure of it within my own. I remember stopping dead in my tracks the first time I was called an *Artist* and then again a *Cultural Educator”. I was a computer scientist, a dancer, a fitness instructor but an artist and a cultural educator? Wasn’t that meant for other folks doing elevated and refined artsy stuff?
I was watching a TV show the other day where a dance studio owner said these two sentences: “You Belong” and “Take up Space” (This is Us fan, anyone?). And I remember that some incredible people around me had conveyed the same message to me all those years ago. They helped me feel that this Brown, barely-30, Woman from a small city in India Belonged and it was OK for me to Take Up Space.
On this International Women’s Day, I hope you feel the same. No matter the color of your skin, pedigree, or your status as a minority, YOU BELONG. So go ahead and TAKE UP THAT SPACE!
March 2022 Newsletter
BOOK A WORKSHOP TODAY!
For your School, Library, or Corporate
Beyond the Colors – 6 concepts of Holi celebrated through 50 activities!
You might have heard about Holi, the famous festival of colors from India. You might have seen stunning images of people covered in color from head to toe, celebrating with joyous abandonment!
But is there more to Holi than colors? And if so, how do you explore them with your kids in a fun & engaging way? In our latest book, we provide you easy ways for you to do just this!
Other than the usual RECIPES, GAMES, PUZZLES ETC. Let’s explore these 6 sub-concepts of Holi!
1. Bravery
The story of Holi is steeped in bravery. Imagine a little boy who defies an evil king and actually perseveres?
This little boy’s name was Prahlad and Holi is celebrated to honor his bravery. You can find the entire story in our Maya/Neel story book.
So Holi is a perfect time to talk about bravery and what it really means to be brave – no matter the age. Activities are great conversation starters and our new activity book provides you just that including a very cool Prahlad Bonfire Lamp!
Template & Instructions
2. Friendship
It is no hidden secret that every society has some way of classifying and separating people. And Holi acts as one of the best equalizers in Indian society!
The day of Holi is meant for people to put aside their differences and celebrate together. The easiest concept of such an equalizing factor for kids is to look at it from the lens of friendship.
So have a conversation with your kids about what makes someone a good friend and how to show appreciation for their friends. Aiding you in the process can be some very fun activities including helping Chintu, the pet squirrel and the most popular character from Maya/Neel books, climb up the friendship ladder!
3. Dances
No Indian celebration is complete without the beautiful songs and dances! Bollywood has made its own mark on Holi by coming up with upbeat songs with infectious beats that still capture the essence of Indian folk music!
Our book provides you with SEVEN different dance & movement experiences that you can learn and enjoy and are completely kid-friendly.
4. Flowers
Flowers have always been a favorite topic in Indian art. Whether its ancient literature, paintings or music, flowers have been fervently explored as being equallly associated with the divine to the mortals.
Holi is a spring festival and the book gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about flowers of India and introduce some fun facts about them.
Did you know that long time ago, Palash flower, also called flame-of-the-forest, was used to make Holi colors?
5. Moon
Moon is similarly popular topic in India. It is associated with romance, kinship, and so much more. Did you know, moon is referred as Mama or the maternal uncle?
Like most other Indian festivals, Holi is followed according to the lunar calendar. And every year, Holi is always celebrated on the full moon day.
There is no shortage of fun activities to explore moon and we offer you a few in the book as well including your very own Moon countdown tracker to Holi.
6. Colors
And of course, the most important one – Colors!
Colors are the essence of this festival and the joy of being covered in and splashing them on your friends is indescribable!
So explore colors while talking about Holi but also look for other ways to connect them to India e.g. the Hindi words of common colors. We offer many such ways of exploring colors in the activity book.
Free Holi Dance, Story and Craft Workshop
Join us for a fun session of Dance, Craft & Stories with Ms. Ajanta, the award-winning co-author of Maya/Neel books and co-founder of Bollywood Groove.
Why I co-wrote the Eid book? Part 2
Ready for part two? This one is a bit more intense.
If you haven’t read part 1, take a read here.
I was in 7th or 8th grade when communal riots broke out in my own city, Bhopal. Violence erupted and we were in a constant state of fear.
Rumor in the air was that the house right behind ours that belonged to a Muslim family was going to get burned. They had two small kids and were petrified.
Everyone watched helplessly but do you know what my parents did? They opened up their doors to hide this family in safety. For them, this wasn’t about who belonged to what faith. It was a simple act of being a human that transcended any divisions we have created among ourselves.
That evening, the family quietly came into our house to hide. I still remember the little boy crouching behind our couch. The girl was too little to really register what was happening and probably thought of it as some kind of adventure.
My parents knew what kind of danger we were putting ourselves into. My sister and I slept with knives under our pillows that night.
Deep into the night, the rioters came with torches and their house caught fire. At some point, the family’s relative came by and took them from our house. They were now in a safe neighborhood, surrounded by people of their own faith.
None of this is one-sided. You will hear stories with much worse outcomes from people on both sides. But what stood out to me was my parents’ stance and their act of bravery. The ability to look beyond differences. The ability to simply love.