Once upon a time, my three-year old stood outside the kitchen safety gate and asked me, ‘Mummy, is Ram’s stepmother queen the same as Snow White’s stepmother queen?’
My immediate answer was ‘Yes’, they are the same! This was enough to make my daughter happy and off she went back to her Snow White story book. I realised that my daughter had just mixed two culturally distinct stories, Ramayana and Snow White, in her head and made it into one! How simple was that!!
This question from a three-year old was the beginning of Apple ‘n’ Spice.
I’ve been teaching Bharatanatyam, a south Asian classical dance form to children for more than a decade. Bharatanatyam has its roots in Indian stories and mythologies and many times I have seen students in my class not being able to relate to these stories. Cultural differences I guess…
So what if I mix stories and then try to convey it through Bharatanatyam? Would children understand that better? Would they enjoy Bharatanatyam more? My daughter’s question has surely given rise to more questions for me to explore. Apple ‘n’ Spice is the very first attempt.
Apple ‘n’ Spice is…
For my children who made me understand that a child’s mind is the best thinking-tank full of imagination
For the children whose parents trusted me to be their child’s dance teacher
For all children- past, present and future 😉
