Sketchstory No. 15 - 'Abhinaya' by Fatima Qureshi

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I am a dancer. Not just my profession, dance is my identity. I was enrolled in Bharatanatyam class at the age of 5, and even at that age, I was mesmerised by the grace and abhinaya of the senior dancers - their perfect posture, crisp, beautiful movements in sync with the taalam. A quick sideways glance with a slight smile, which quickly transitioned to rage, then love, then envy, then sadness. I wanted to be like them, to embody perfection in the way they did.


My dance classes were my happy place, where I learned to surrender myself to the practice and immerse myself in the stories of Krishna and Radha. It soon became a passion.


I recognise that I have the privilege of finding my calling early in life and having the opportunity to turn my passion into a profession. Many a day I find myself spending hours, obsessing over choreographies and perfecting and reworking compositions.


I am a dancer, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

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Comments

  1. Padma GJune 19, 2020 at 4:43 AM

    The dancer story to this sketch works beautifully! Fatima, love the story! And Usha, this has got to be the most beautiful sketch in your series - exquisite features, beautiful eyes, eyebrows, just everything is so well proportioned to create a very pleasing image.

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