Over the course of the past sixteen years, Nymisha Pabbaraju has learned Bharatanatyam from Gurus Smt. Sudha Panchangam, Smt. Karthika Ganesh, and Smt. Roma Thakore. She performed her arangetram under the guidance of Guru Smt. Sudha Panchangam in September 2012. Since then, she has continued her journey of enjoying and worshipping dance and has performed at several different venues. She has had her own dance school for the past four years with twelve students who are her pride and joy. Her students routinely participate in performances across the city as well as in dance competitions.
The performance today
This dance follows the story of a girl growing up and becoming aware of gender inequality and how women tend to be treated in society. The dance starts with her as a little girl in a temple. She listens to her parents explain how powerful the mighty Devis are and why people pray to them because of their various qualities, such as their strength and intelligence. The little girl is excited to see how strong these female gods are and wants to prove how she is just like them. However, as she grows up, she is told to stay at home and study, to dress conservatively, to learn how to cook and clean, and most importantly, how to be obedient. As she gets older, she realizes that even though she has the zeal and enthusiasm inside of her to harness the power of the devis, she is forced to channel it into a life that has been predetermined for her. Society has made it clear that showing strength, command, leadership, and extroversion is inherently unfeminine, and in fact, women portraying these traits are often branded as bossy, rude, and domineering. She reflects on this paradigm and is confused and upset knowing that there is so much wasted potential in the world, and that in a lot of ways, the same people who pray to the Devis for their various qualities are the same people stomping the zest and strength out of women. It is not necessarily their fault; it is just how society has evolved. The type of inequality women face differs around the world, but it is prevalent in many forms, whether it be unequal pay, a lack of access to education, having to stay at home and take care of the household and not being able to pursue dreams and career goals, or simply being stereotyped as weak and incapable of doing certain things just because of gender. Often, the only way that women are shown to have strength is by demonstrating their capacity to endure pain and various troubles. However, there is also strength in fighting your own battles and standing up for yourself. There is nothing unfeminine or inherently wrong in being vocal about what you believe in and carving your own path with your own destiny.
