Natya Moments and Impacts 2023

Natya Experiences and Impacts: 2023

1. Ananth’s Adventures Youtube Channel One of the unexpected outcomes of natya that is having lasting effects on what we do is the Ananth’s Adventures YouTube channel. We launched Ananth’s Adventures YouTube channel in January 2023.
   Vist our channel at: Ananth’s Adventures – YouTube
   
   We shared the Pada Beda (movements of the feet) exploration as the first video from Ananth’s Adventures. This channel continued to grow in 2023. I share lessons by Sri Ujwal Jagadeesh, my stories, my performances, my theater productions with RASA (Ramana Sunritya Aalaya) and other resources on Ananth’s Adventures.


2. Narrating Stories I narrated the story of Robbers in Ramana Thatha’s Ashram (thatha is grandfather in Tamil, Ramana Maharshi is referred to as Ramana thatha in stories) in January 2023. I narrated the White Peacock story on my birthday on December 2, 2022, at a webinar organized by SpecialSaathi. I enjoyed this experience and decided to continue narrating stories.  Robbers in Ramana Thatha’s Ashram was my second story. After that experience, I continued narrating stories throughout 2023.


3. Theater Performance I played the role of Swami Vivekananda on RASA day (February 2023). It was my second RASA day performance. My first RASA day performance was Jatayu Moksham in 2022.


4. Family Interactions This picture was also taken on the day I performed in the Swami Vivekananda play. My mother guides and supports me in all my TAHD experiences.


5. A Trip to Tiruvannamalai I went to Tiruvannamalai on March 15, 2023.  My interest in visiting Tiruvannamalai arose because of Ramana thatha stories that I heard in my class. I visited Ramana Ashram when I visited Tiruvannamalai. I also enjoyed the Girivalam (going around Arunachala mountain), and hiking to Virupaksha cave and Skandashram. My mother took this picture outside Virupaksha cave. After this visit, I can visualize Ramana thatha stories more clearly.


6. A Trip to Bergen I went on a tour in Bergen in Norway. I closed my eyes and listened to the peaceful and beautiful waterfall. I was narrating the story of the golden mongoose and exploring silence. Hence, we explored this pose in this picture.


7. Performing in a Community Celebration I performed Ganesh Stuti at my community. It was my first solo performance after my arangetram (September 2023).


8. Performing a Group Dance I performed a dance on Yogambikai in October 2023. It was my first group dance at Ramana Maharshi Center for Learning. After this experience, I started attending online classes with the group.


9. Performing at a Wedding I performed a dance for Mr. Manu Sekar’s (Founder and CEO of HashHackCode) wedding in October. This was the first time I danced at a wedding.


10. Celebrating a Birthday – The TAHD Way I did a song Arunachala mein on my birthday which was on December 2. I was performing a dance for Special Saathi. Many in the SpecialSaathi audience are from north India, so I chose a Hindi song.


11. Performing with RASA Team I performed at the inauguration of the Artabilities for All Wall of Fame at IIT, Madras. (December 13, 2023). I performed as part of the RASA team.


12. Launching Natya Imprints I was delighted to get a job as a Content Development Officer for RASA. Natya Imprints blog is one of my responsibilities for this job. I hope to share a neurodivergent perspective on the benefits of Indian Natya. When Dr. Masgutova first suggested dance for me, my parents and I were very surprised because I had many motor challenges. But Bharatanatyam has been a game changer for me. Now that I have started exploring theater with RASA, the impacts have expanded.

I hope to inspire and motivate more neurodivergent learners to explore Indian natya. I hope parents and educators will also get ideas for using TAHD as a tool for learning and development for all learners.