Kathak is one of the most graceful dance forms across the world. Millions have been attracted to watch, train, and learn the Indian Classical dance. Yet, it requires a lot of time, patience, and resources to grasp it. However, many unfortunate people yearn to pick it and fail due to adverse conditions.
Meet Ananya Chaturvedi, a certified Kathak dancer and a journalism student from Amity University. She has come forward to fulfill the dream of a group of kids whose parents could not afford to send them to dance classes.
This young lady from Noida teaches the traditional dance form to about 48 students who live in servants’ quarters and helpers’ apartments in her area. She is even taking them to functions, giving them free tuitions, and helping whenever the need arises.
LifeBeyondNumbers got in touch with Ananya to learn more about her amazing work.
Since Ananya was a child, dance was her favorite hobby. She used to shake a leg to every song that used to play on television. Soon, her parents noted her interest and put her in Kathak classes, which became an integral part of her life.
“My parents put me into a Kathak class when I was nine. Initially, I used to find it boring because as a nine-year-old, Bollywood songs were more fascinating and fun. Kathak, on the other hand, had to be taken very seriously with memorizing all the footwork, bols (syllables spoken while performing), and many other things. And at that age, I did not have that seriousness towards the art. It is later that I realized the importance of Kathak and since then it is the food to my soul and heart,” shares Ananya.
Although Ananya pursued dance, she was equally dedicated to her studies. After completing her 12th standard, she decided to pursue journalism.
“I was always that kid who loved to talk, communicate and express without any hesitation. So, when I had to choose a career option, me, and my parents already had journalism in our minds. I feel if I have the ability to communicate, I should use it for the better,” says Ananya.
She also chose the field to have some impact on society. This very intent of her also inspired her to start a dance school for poor children. She wanted her knowledge to be accessible to all who aspire to get there.
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Her initiative is currently funded by Amritvani Parivar, a religious group of ladies who conduct bhajans inside the sector. The money collected through that is donated for the welfare of underprivileged children.
“I founded NRITYAM in 2017 with two students. Currently, we have 48 students that are divided into four groups: Junior-Senior Bollywood & Junior-Senior Kathak. Nrityam, since the day it was founded, has been supported by Amritvani Parivaar. This organization is run by Mrs. Neelam Suri, who is my co-resident in sector 15A. They fund our programs, dresses for children, and fulfill all our needs,” Ananya informs.
Yet the pandemic has changed things drastically and turned the entire class into online mode. It was difficult to conduct initially but Ananya made sure that her students do not miss out on all the training.
“These two years have been really difficult for us at Nrityam. Not all students have access to the internet and mobile phones. So, it was difficult for me to conduct online classes. So the way out I found was that I created a Whatsapp group, batch-wise. Added the students from their parent’s mobile numbers. I send my dance video for them to learn from it and give them a week’s time. They were asked to send their videos on the group and I send each one a voice note telling them about what they did right and what was to be improved,” shares Ananya.
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Ananya even goes a step forward and helps the student and their families during all sorts of emergencies. She even arranges doctors and helps them financially.
“The children always know that I am available on call all the time and they can reach out to me for anything and everything. Whenever there’s an emergency at a student’s place, I try to arrange the doctor’s appointment and medical help as much as I can. At times, I provide them with financial help when needed,” she mentions.
The COVID phase has delayed the registration of the institute so they are unable to accept cash at the moment. But if you are still willing to join the cause you may click here and send them goods as per their needs.