BHARATIYAM - Rejoicing the spirit of India in USA

2 weeks ago, we had our cultural event organized by TIRANGA at VCU. The theme was traditional Indain folk dance or music. It was a tough call for me to make a commitment for this event. Our Goggle presentation at Brandcenter was postponed by a week. So it was exactly 2 days after this event. I wanted to be good at it. But then again performing at Bharatiyam was kinda my last chance as a student. I wanted to dance. Badly.

I think for situations like this, Brandcenter had a Cultural Exploration class. Kelly once said - we should always do something we like on our weekends. Never give up on your hobbies when you get into the real world. Let culture influence your communication rather than advertising done in past. All the conversations from the Cultural Exploration class I took last semester suddenly started making itself heard in my head.
They were telling me to do it! This was the test, do I succumb to work pressure or do I try to juggle between the two? This was my last attempt as a student to perform without any pressure of being judged. This was my last chance to perform in front of my community. But then if I do commit, am I being unfair towards my other team members? Will I be fair towards my commitment to Goggle assignment?
This was the white noise in my head.

My zest to perform conquered over the worries. I made a commitment of devoting 2hrs a day to practice. We would practice from 10 -12 p.m. This wasn't easy. Since we were not professionals, dance practice for the first 5 days took a toll on us physically. However, we were determined. We arranged for cloths and some jewelery from Indians staying in Richmond whom we don't even know. They willingly agreed to share their belongings to help us out with the event. I arranged some jewelery which was absolutely necessary for the dance from India (I call this insourcing). Woof!

Despite work, exams, submissions and, quizzes we performed.
Check it out.



(I am playing the role of female in brownish sari on the right side of the screen in the video.)

This made me happy. It took the pressure out of my life for the next 2 weeks.
There was something I could talk about to my friends at Brandcenter that I did on a weekend. I was able to allow my culture to influence me again.
I plan to stay loyal to this commitment.

Kelly, thank you so much for taking that class.

Now, back to work till I dance to an opportunity that knocks again.