Aaravi pallavi – Festival of the Globe ( FOG) , Fremont, CA, June 2024

I clearly remember the first day my Guruji started teaching Aaravi Pallavi. It was in the middle of the pandemic in November 2020. We were traveling on our bicycle tour. I had good internet connection for the Saturday class. I set up my laptop on the kitchen counter of our AirBnb in Tuxtla, Chiapas, Mexico. That would be the only initiation into this piece until I could anchor myself in Coimbatore months later in February 2021, when I had to learn the piece on my own. The strongest motivation was that I could some day take it to stage. Many moons later, I finally felt confident enough to perform the piece at the Fremont festival celebration for India independence day in June 2024.

What was additionally special was that my teacher, Guru Vishnu Tattva Das was being honored with an award at the festival.

Choreography: Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra