ನುಡಿ ಮಿಲನ 2019- ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ ( Click here to read NUDI MILANA 2019 EDITION)

~By Pavan Nagaraja Feats of accomplishments against odds have long defined success in humans. In a manner of speaking human progress is very often the continuum of such success stories.  Regardless of where such stories happen, and in what context, we always tend to box them into the usual tropes of superlatives – the biggest, the bravest, the tallest, the smartest  and so on  — but there are local stories of admirable courage and motivation that often go unnoticed and worse, unappreciated. The purpose of this write-up is to highlight one such achievement right here in Milwaukee. Varsha Nandakumar is a 19-year old smart affable kid. She has the same interests as those of kids of her age. She likes music, likes to be on Instagram and loves social media. She started learning Bharatanatyam, the South Indian classical dance form, from the Natyarpana School of Dance  ever since she was five. Bharatanatyam like any other classical dance is a complex layered art that combines elements of rhythmic footwork, aesthetics of graceful  dance, and pantomiming of characters and situations mostly from Indian mythology. It takes many years of disciplined, rigid training before the student gets ready for her first performance. This first performance called variously as Arangetram or Rangapravesham signifies the coming of age of the artist ready to unpack her craft to the world; a joyous moment of a Pupa transitioning into a butterfly.  After more than 10 years of training, Varsha had her Arangetram under the guidance of her […]