#arangetram

[madscientist008]

Bharatanatyam💃

[corntort]

do you think a princess and the ultimate life form could be..... BEST FRIENDS?!?!??!!?!??

[cosmicrhetoric]

becoming disillusioned w/ higher education the second i left was so. okay a few years ago i sat in on a panel with 2nd gen south asian professionals (cause my friend was on it and we were hanging out after) geared towards brown high school kids looking to get into college. and everyone on the panel was pretty successful and had Done The Right Thing in hs and while there were a few liberal arts jobs up there it was mostly stem/business. but every single panelist refused to stick with the narrative they were supposed to stick with and every single one of them was like yeah i regret how I treated myself in high school and i regret assuming that if I can do well academically I'd be an ok person in the end. but during the q&a portion these 16 yr olds would raise their hand like "hi so how would I go about getting an internship in this very specific biomedical field that you were in" and the panelists had to be like "look. you aren't listening. if you keep doing this you are going to burn out so spectacularly that you will barely recover. the takeaway message is that none of this matters more than You" of course im sitting there like 😶 (cause that did in fact happen to me when i was 20 and im lucky i recovered) but the fact that every single person who was right there with me in high school has to spend their twenties like why did i do that. what was that all for. what did it get me. and there are no answers

[vishnavishivaa]

Ae Manpura Mangaiye

This is the full OS- I am clearly OBSESSED WITH modern first meets.

*******

Aparajit Ravi was excited for the Bharatanatyam program he was going for. He usually loved Bharatanatyam, being a dancer himself. However, something about this program hit different, in the very being of his soul.

He looked at himself in the mirror critically. He had chosen what is often called pattu pitambharam, the colour Krishna is said to wear famously. Something had told him this was the right kurta for this program. He quietly smiled when he saw the mirage of a peacock feather on the mirror.

Kanaka Sridhar.

Never had he met her, yet her dance felt etched in every inch of him, the romantic in him awakened since his best friend Rudra had told him about her.

Speaking of, Rudra had been throwing him a knowing look since he mentioned Kanaka, and Balaram Anna, Aparajit's elder brother, had taken cues from Rudra. This was so normal in Aparajit's life, but somehow, this time, everything felt different.

"You ready, Ajit?" Rudra asked with an innocent smile, dressed in olive green and wearing his calm smile with mischievous tints only Aparajit knew and understood. His best friend was up to something, mused Aparajit, even as he nodded in affirmation.

"I am, but..." Aparajit rarely faltered, but in front of Rudra, he had no reason to not.

"But?"

"Something about today feels signficant, Rudra. What is going on?"

"You will see at the dance program, Ajit. Come come," Rudra smirked mischievously, causing Aparajit to groan. His best friend was hiding something from Him, but Rudra could also not be cajoled.

Definitely not to tell Aparajit what He wanted to know badly.

"Come on, Kanna," Balaram added, the tone of His voice a smirk Aparajit knew all too well. The latter looked at His elder brother with big, hopeful eyes, but Balaram shook His head.

"You are getting nothing out of me. Come, let us go."

***

A strange nervousness filled Kanaka that day, as she sat in the make up room of Sivagami Petachi auditorium. It felt like life was coming to a full circle. This was the place she had done her Arangetram too, and it was incredibly special to her.

Yet, the strange butterflies in her stomach surprised her. Kanaka adored dancing, and when she danced, she was in the zone of Vishnu, as she loved to call it.

When she danced, she always lost herself to the music, the movement, the emotions, and in the world of Keshava. She felt that anything that was there was Krishna's, and whatever she did was for Him as well.

Moreover, the dance today was entirely Vishnu focused- She was starting with a Shabdham on Venugopala, then doing Innam En Manam varnam, composed by Lalgudi G Jayaraman. This was to be followed by two padams for a change, one being Aasai Mugam melded with Kaakai Siraginile, bringing together two masterpieces by Bharatiyar, and another a small padam Chaliye Kunjanamo, written by Swati Thirunal. Finally, she was to do Kalinga Narthana Thillana by Oothukadu Venkatasubba Iyer.

Today was the greatest exhilaration for her, and yet.. she felt her life will change with this performance. She reached for her handbag and pulled out the little Navaneeta Gopala, her lucky charm, and stared at Him for a moment. His little face was the greatest strength in her life.

She took a large breath and whispered, "Kanna, whatever you do, it is always for the best."

Girija and Medha buzzed in, and Kanaka looked at her best friends, smiling quietly.

"He is up to something," Kanaka said, feeling tears wet her eyes for some reason. But this was her best friends, who adored Krishna as their elder brother.

"He loves you, Kanu," Medha hugged her gently. "All will be well, you will see."

***

Aparajit felt an excitement fill him, as the compere for the day started speaking. He saw Rudra jolt mildly, and looked at his best friend. He had realized what was going on without being said; Aparajit patted Rudra's arm in support and turned back to the stage.

The sound of the salangai from backstage was a steady cadence, a sound his heart seemed to recognize. He smiled, eyes eager on the stage, when she walked in to the Thodaya Mangalam, the start of any dance program.

And he froze.

Tham thana tham thana kangal sontham solla

tham thana tham thana kangal sontham solla

His heart hummed that his vision was for her- this is why he had been born, in fact. He watched the inordinate grace that had become her being, and he knew that this dance will be one for the ages.

Idhayathin mozhiya ippothu ezhudhungal pallaviyai

He watched her start her Shabdham on Venugopala, and an awareness thrummed through his veins. The way she did it was as if she had given herself to Venugopala, as if He were all she wanted, needed and wished for.

And this was not the focus of the Shabdham. To any layman, her Bhakti will be clear. But to Aparajit's eyes, Kanaka's samarpanam to Krishna was the highest of awakenings, somehow.

It was as if... no, there is no way that is true.

Ae Manpura Mangaiye, Nillaayo?

He watched her go backstage with longing eyes as she finished the Shabdham, clapping loudly. He knew his eyes spoke of stars, but that is what she was made of; an ethereal woman, dancing as if she was an illusion on Earth.

Semadhulai vaai mozhi, sollaayo?

He smiled to himself when those words came to his mind. She was indeed beyond an apsara even, her beauty, he felt in his heart, was like Thirumagal... the One meant for Aparajit.

"You see now, don't you?" Rudra whispered knowingly, and Aparajit nodded.

"I see now, Rudra."

And she entered with Innam En Manam, making Aparajit's heart stutter. Bhamae, his heart whispered, delight filling him. My heart, his soul whispered, as he watched Kanaka in an energetic jathi.

She was speaking to him, his veins throbbed.

en kalithogai muraiyil paadugirai

en kalithogai muraiyil paadugirai

en kurunthogai mozhiyil pesugirai

en paamara mozhiyil paadayo

Aparajit watched as Satyabhama asked Krishna why He had forgotten Her, Kanaka embodying Satyabhama Herself. He felt like He could see a peacock feather floating around Kanaka, a symbol of Krishna in Her very presence.

Unexpectedly, their eyes met when she was finishing the jathi, and he froze. Those eyes... like the wide petals of the blue Lotus, ever expanding... oh, he had always known those eyes.

kangal paarthen kavi aanen

innum paarthal enge poven

And yet, he could not look away. Just a glimpse of her had given meaning to his life in a way he had never felt before. A type of energy filled him, the union of the inner shakti with the body, or so it felt like.

unnale kamban thaanduven

un idazh mele... ezhudhuven

He smiled a little when Kanaka did the whole Krishna cajoling a purposely pouting Satyabhama. Satyabhama seemed to always know that Her husband loved cajoling Her out of Her pouts and sulks at some mischief He has done. It was all an ethereal Leela of the couple who had chosen to make Their love as human as it is Divine.

Their eyes met again, and his heart sang- a powerful melody of an ancient feeling.

ae manpura mannava, nillaayo

en paamara vaarthaiyil, sollaayo

ae manpura mannava ae manpura mannava

The sweet pleas of Satyabhama cajoling a supposedly sulking Krishna stunned Aparajit's heart, for he could feel himself living the very scene. He knew a smile akin to nostalgia had touched his face, but his eyes were rapt on Kanaka alone, his mind zoning out of everything but her.

The varnam ended as SatyabhamaKrishna reconciled, and Aparajit felt a tear fall down his cheek. Usually he would wipe it off.

But not this time.

No.

This time, he would rejoice.

In the love, in the awakening, and in the flutter of the most ancient truth of all.

******

@ahamasmiyodhah @mahi-wayy @yehsahihai @theramblergal @krsnaradhika @ramayantika @achyutapriya @thegleamingmoon @nidhi-writes @houseofbreadpakoda @hum-suffer @kanhapriya @kaal-naagin @krishna-priyatama @willkatfanfromasia @celestesinsight @arachneofthoughts @idllyastuff @mahaswrites @braj-raj @krishna-sangini @krishna-premi @chaliyaaa @tripurantaka @writersiya @ambidextrousarcher @zeherili-ankhein @rang-lo @nushkiespeaks @sambaridli @sambhavami Let me know your thoughts!

[rahuratna]

Edit:

Finally completed this fic! Here is a very short glossary of some of the terms used, which I will provide a link to in the fic. The rest of the terms are explained in the story:

1. Adavu: a series of basic steps that form the foundation of bharatnatyam performances. These are drilled in dance class.

2. Katakamukha: one of the single hand gestures (part of the standard posture I was taught in early classes, with knees bent at an angle. We kept both our hands in this mudra as a basic starting posture). A reference picture is here.

3. Atman: a reference, in Hinduism, to the true and eternal self, the soul. Consciousness and awareness of yourself is seen as a symptom of possessing a soul. 

It's the day before my birthday, and I've just completed writing a fic that is very dear to me, on many levels. This past year has been a difficult one, and my writing has helped me cope with that on many levels.

As a former dancer and student of bharatanatyam, and someone who has experienced the lengthy process of trauma, healing and grief, my latest piece offers some insight into those things and the weight they carry in my life, along with my thoughts on the meaning of love.

It is called 'Arangetram' (a post-Shibuya Nanami x Reader) and I hope that you enjoy it.

[akaikali]

TMAGP EP 26 REACTION (SPOILERS)

SORRY IM LATE MY SISTER IS DOING HER ARANGETRAM ON SATURDAY SO HECTIC HECTIC

Okay but like. I'm suspicious too why is it just "dog". And why is Celia like. Not concerned about that either.

KAHDAKHFNE WE'RE GONNA SEE HELEN??????

MAGNUSSING. WE ARE IN FACT MAGNUSSING.

Celia just. Has a knife. Okay. I am sure Alice is kinda turned on by this. She's trying to be normal about this.

...is Mr. Jarrod able to compell people into doing what he says??

Oh dear lord what the hell this really is a nightmare I hate running

AN ARCHIVIST???? WHAT???? WAS I WRITE????? I SAID THAT ERROR WAS JUST AN ARCHIVIST NOT OUR ARCHIVIST.

Alice you just have proof that what Gwen went through absolutely happened.

Dyhard is MOVINGGGGG

HOLY SHIT ALICE YES. OUR GIRL OUR DETECTIVE ALICE. SHES GETTING IT SHES MAGNUSSING

Huh. So was Celia looking the Archivist because she was hoping it would be like Jon and would be able to tell her how to return to her dimension

Oh my god right Celia nearly got eaten by Helen I remember that. No wonder she's a bit taken back by her.

Also MY LADY HELEN PLEASE DONT BE A TORY HERE I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU

(Faffing with brochures) took me out lmao they're so British

They're doing better this time! Also I wonder if Helen would have been like this had she not been Distortioned.

You know nvm she reminds me of Distortion Helen

(ITS VERY REMINISCENT OF THE DISTORTION) ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME I HATE YOU THATD MY DOORWIFE YOURE MAKINGCME MISS MY MESSED UP DOORWIFE

Sam and Jack-oh no. How is Celia supposed to leave if she's this serious about Sam? Enough to have her kid meet him?

THE BABY IS A TORY AKDHSKFH

oh. OH OKAY THIS OKAY THEN WELL.

Return of Rusty Quill Kissing Noises

OKAY SO YEAH A LOT. A LOT JUST HAPPENED. AHHHHHH.

[aksharonie]

Drew my friend cuz queen just finished her Bharathanatyam Arangetram and I’m so proud of her!!!!

[malconnorsupremacy]

masterlist

here's the masterlist where there's (mostly) all of my posts- headcanons, fics, textposts, etc.

here we go!

PJO

Malconnor headcanons

all pjo nonsense, including textposts (keep in mind i was immature and very 16 for most of these)

fics:

malconnor:

we're happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way (250 words, T)

Malcolm has a hard time getting his eyes off a certain son of Hermes.

percabeth:

golden like daylight (378 words, T)

Percy has a nightmare.

Six of Crows

Kanej x Massages

Kanej x hair worship

other soc nonsense (no textposts lol)

kanej fics:

our secret moments in a crowded room (1.5k words, M)

Kaz and Inej, at a party.

love is a ruthless game (unless you play it good and right) (multichapter, M)

Inej is kidnapped, and it doesn't help when the abductor is the man she walked away from a year ago.

dancing with our hands tied (AU, multichapter, M)

Inej is presented with a golden opportunity to make a name for herself as Kerch's first Suli to get a Bharatnatyam Arangetram, a ceremony she had always desired, when Dirtyhands gets her out of Heleen's institute.

But she does not see the consequences of being associated with the most dangerous man in the Barrel coming.

this love left a permenant mark (multichapter, 7k words, M) (complete!)

Inej, as she learns that marking and being marked does not mean losing one's identity.

lightning in a bottle (modern AU, college/uni)

A day in the life of Kaz and Inej when nothing and everything went their way

[deepamuthukrishnan]

The Science of it All:

High school Luke Hughes x OC

(Peep the edit bc idk what happened to my Luke pic)

Summary: Divya goes over to Luke’s house for their first tutoring session but it proves to be a struggle.

Warnings: Swearing.

Author’s Note: Okay, is it just me or does Luke give the vibe that he smells like coconut and cucumber. Like idk, is it just me or smth???

(Also panoxyl is a spray that you can use to prevent acne breakouts)

Also I’m trying this thing where I put songs that I like to get people to listen to them, lmk if I should continue.

Chapter 3:

Divya’s POV

I didnt have time to take a shower because I had arangetram rehearsals right before this. Instead, I changed into a t shirt and shorts, spraying some PanOxyl on my back, chest, and face so pimples don’t appear the next day.

I quickly redo my messy bun before getting out of my dad’s Honda Civic hand me down car, getting my Spider-Man tote bag from the passenger seat, admiring the house in front of me.

It’s big and beautiful. There is a lot of wood accents on the outside and there are a plethora of flowers planted leading up to the porch.

I walk to the front door before ringing the doorbell, shuffling a bit while I awkwardly wait inside. I can make out some commotion coming from inside that gradually gets louder.

Some guy opens the door and he just looks at me. He has short wavy brown hair and the same white skin as Luke and he has the same muted blue eyes like him. Oh and he looks a little older.

“Um, I’m here to see Luke.” I say awkwardly.

“Quinn go away!” I hear Luke yell as he barrels towards the front door.

“What. I was just talking to your girl.” He teases Luke who now looks like he’s about to blow a fuse.

“She’s not my girl, she’s my APES tutor.” He responds. “And go away.”

Quinn chuckles and goes back inside, muttering something about Jack or something before Luke looks at me.

“Uh, come in.” He moves out of the way and I walk inside, taking my shoes off at the front door before placing them in a corner.

“Oh you didn’t have to do that.” He says and I look at him, my cheeks flushed with a bit of embarrassment.

“Oh uh, it’s just muscle memory i guess.” I reply, fixing the strap of my tote bag that is falling off my shoulder.

“Where do you wanna work?” He asked.

“Uh, anywhere’s fine.” I shrug. “I’m not a picky.”

“We can go to my room.” He said.

“Yeah sure.”

I fix my tote bag that is falling off my shoulder and we walk into the living room and I see another boy with brown hair and blue eyes with a group of boys on the couch. Their gaze averts to us and they all yell and smirk.

“Finally Baby Hughes!” One yells.

“Proud of you man.” Another says.

“Boys behave.” A woman says in the kitchen who’s making something. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and gives the group of boys a little glare.

“Uh yeah. You’ve met Quinn. He’s the oldest and a defenseman in the Canucks.” He points to the brown haired boy. “And that’s my second older brother Jack. He’s the middle child and he’s a forward on the Devils.”

It’s the middle of November and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the hockey season should’ve started around this time.

“There’s been some stuff going on within the NHL and that’s why the season is getting delayed.” He answered, almost reading my mind.

I wordlessly say oh and he walks to the kitchen island before sitting down. I stand next to because you know, manners.

“Don’t forget we have to schedule a tour to U Mich before Quinn goes.” His mother tells him.

“Okay. Oh and mom,” he points to me. “This is Divya. She’s my APES tutor.”

“Hi Mrs. Hughes.” I smile and greet her.

“Please, call me Ellen. You make me feel like I’m their father’s mother, God rest her soul.” She chuckled. “But it is a pleasure to meet the girl who’s trying to catch my son up in APES. He’s currently not doing so well before leaving for Canada for Worlds.”

“Mom!” Luke yells, his face turning a little pink.

“I’m your mother. It gives me the right to tease you a little.” She chuckled.

I chuckle a bit before he gets off the stool. “Me and Divya are gonna be in my room.” He told his mother.

“Oh. If you want, leave the door closed and I’ll come up in a bit with snacks.” She responds.

Keep the door closed-

We’re not gonna make out or something.

I’m just helping him. Nothing more, nothing less.

I follow him as we go upstairs to his room. He opened his door and moves to open a curtain.

“This is my room.” He says.

It’s your stereotypical boy’s room: blue walls, a bookshelf with a few books and smaller hockey trophies and plaques, navy blue bed, a corner filled with with the bigger hockey trophies and some medals hung on the wall.

It feels, underwhelming to say the least.

“I can uh, sit on the bed. You can take my desk.” He says.

“Oh no it’s fine.” I protest. “You can sit on your desk.”

“No it’s fine.” He says. “I’ll take my bed and you take my desk.”

Before I can protest further, he grabs the pile of work he missed, his arm cutting in front of my chest, before plopping on his bed.

“Okay then.” I sit down and get out my iPad, unlocking it and opening Google Classroom but I get the no WiFi message.

“Need the WiFi?” He asks.

“No actually, I’m trying to find the chamber of secrets but I’m a little lost.” I respond sarcastically.

He chuckled and got off his bed, walking behind me and setting up the WiFi on my iPad for me. I could smell the faint scent of coconut and cucumber lingering on him.

Jesus get a grip Divya! He probably had a girlfriend!

“You should be good now.”

He walks back to his bed and plops down.

“Thanks.” I respond, pulling up some slides. “Okay, what did you learn last?”

His phone pings and he quickly answers it before putting it away. “Uh, I think it was the populations unit.” He looked through the stack of papers. “Yeah, the population unit.”

“So unit 3.” I clarify.

“Yeah.”

I smiled to myself. “I loved that unit.”

I click the classwork tab in google classroom and scroll down to the unit 3 section before pulling up the slideshow.

“I don’t remember the order that we went through in terms of the slides, but I’m just gonna go down the lessons in order.” I say.

“I don’t care as long as I get all this work done.” He says and on cue, his phone pings and he answers it before putting it away.

“Okay, so the first lesson we did was about generalist and specialist species.”

I see him on his phone and sigh. “Luke get off your phone.”

“Sorry, sorry.” He puts his phone away and gets out the first worksheet. “Continue.”

“So specialist species are species that makes them prone to extinction. They have a smaller range of tolerance and they also have specific food requirements. They also have less of an ability to adapt to new conditions. Think like koalas and pandas. However, generalist species have a larger range of tolerance, making them less prone to extinction and they’re more likely to be invasive and they have more of an ability to adapt to new conditions. Think like raccoons and rats.”

I turn back to look at Luke and he’s yet again, on his phone texting someone, chuckling doing so. It starts to annoy me and I sigh.

“Luke, put your phone down.” I sat with forced calmness.

“Right. Sorry.” He clears his throat and puts his phone down.

“Thank you. But anyways. The next lesson we did was kinda the same thing has generalist vs. specialist species except it’s called k and r-selected species. K selected species go with specialist species. K selected don’t make a lot of babies but they have heavy parental care. They have long lifespans and they take a long time to reach sexual maturity and they’re likely to be disrupted by changes in the environment or invasive species. Humans and other mammals fall into k-selected species R-selected goes with generalist species. They produce many offspring and there is little to no parental care. They have a shorter lifespan, they’re quick to sexual maturity, and they have a high population growth rate. They’re best suited for environments that rapidly change and they’re also more likely to be invasive species. Think insects and fish.”

I look over and get more annoyed that he’s on his phone. I snatch his phone and he immediately looks up at me.

“What-“

I see that it’s his girlfriend sending him mirror pics of her at the gym. Typical white girl with a horrible tan and blonde hair.

this is Divya, Luke’s tutor. do not text him now because he’s trying to learn and you’re not making it easier for the both of us and you’re rn pissing my off.

“Hey-“

I immediately power off his phone before giving it to him.

“Just so you know, you’re not wasting my time. I know this unit like the back of my hand. So you can either try to listen and do the work that you missed, or I leave and never come back and you struggle with the work.” I respond before pointing to the three worksheets and the quiz. “That’s the work you missed for this stuff.”

“Divya I’m-“

“I have to go. I have work I have to do.”

I turn my iPad off and place my stylus in the little slot on the iPad case before putting it in my tote bag.

“The choice is yours Luke.” I say before I walk out.

[ramayantika]

Umm is it okay to say no to my roommate for not accompanying her to the market??

I haven't practiced dance for my periods and my class timetable is 9-5 so I can only have one hour in the evening to do so, and now we have extra classes to cover for the upcoming semester exams which makes it even more hectic at times, and I must keep practicing devotedly to do my arangetram and score well for my odissi exam

She won't feel bad right??

[b-sai-des]

A New Frontier: South Asian Fusion

In terms of any actual formal music knowledge, I come from the side of Carnatic music, the Indian classical music style, having been learning the mridangam for around ten years under my guru, Sri T.S Nandakumar. I am always eternally grateful for all that he has done for all of us students, and one of the many things I admire about sir is his willingness to explore unconventional avenues with the mridangam. The mridangam is a two-sided barrel drum usually played as an accompanying instrument in a Carnatic piece that may feature vocals or violin, and veena as well. Nandakumar sir is a renowned accompanying artist, but he’s also given his students many opportunities to perform like chamber concerts and arangetrams. One really unique thing he’s done is a large orchestra of mridangams and other Carnatic percussion instruments at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival, which he’s done for multiple years and encouraged even younger students to practice and perform there. It’s unusual for the mridangam to take such a center stage like that, where you have around 100 players playing together in an epic display alongside veena and violin. It was also cool to see Nandakumar sir bringing in western drums into those performances as well, along with drum pads there and in other performances. Having that exposure from a young age really opened my eyes to the potential of Carnatic music elements in contexts that you don’t normally see, and I got curious about what else is capable. Carnatic music for example utilizes many, many different talams (time signatures) apart from just 4:4 (Adi in Carnatic music), and it would be really interesting to see how that could be utilized more generally.

South Asian fusion is a huge, diverse space that’s hard to really pigeon-hole because of how many types of South Asian music there are (Carnatic is just one, there’s also Hindustani, Sufi music, folk music, Bhangra, etc.), along with different genres that they are mixed with like jazz, rock, pop, etc. You had mingling in the past, like Ravi Shankar and The Beatles. Later on it grew, definitely a more recent phenomenon and likely accelerated due to immigration and assimilation in the west. Younger generations are really at the forefront on it  – you see a ton of high school and college clubs doing Indian music or dance fusion. Rutgers has many, including RU Dhol for example. Some of these student clubs lean more on the side of Bollywood-oriented stuff, and there are times that can overshadow other ways to explore the genres – my sister sometimes talks about how the South Asian fusion club she’s part of really neglects classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam or Kathak. In that club it’s seen as the less hip thing, and people will say “it’s cool that you’re so confident to perform that” rather than actually having an interest in it and the people who want to share it. Then again, I'm talking about high-school pettiness here – it's not like this everywhere. RU Dhol combines South Asian instruments and styles of playing with western equivalents. This performance places electric guitars next to the Indian classical violin style in a really fun way.

One of my biggest experiences with South Asian fusion is with Brooklyn Raga Massive. My aunt is a Bharatanatyam teacher, and in 2018 or so she had collaborated with a theater director for a production of Jungle Book, where her students performed Bharatanatyam in a song. After the show, we had met some of the other musicians involved in the show, since my cousin learns Carnatic singing, my sister Bharatanatyam, and I mridangam, and we talked to a percussionist who was part of Brooklyn Raga Massive. He had told us about them – they do daily events at a Prospect Heights venue along with bigger events and performances, and he encouraged us to come on a Thursday where they hold an open mic jam session. We definitely got excited about this, and we went one evening.

The venue was a real hole in the wall type bar with a small stage and seating area in the back, and there was a decent and rather diverse crowd of people. Dim lights and creaky wooden floors, very aesthetic. It’s interesting because now they’ve grown immensely as an organization, and I don’t believe they still have events at this place. It was really cool to see the really different talents displayed there – one woman performed a really interesting singing performance which now I can’t pinpoint what style it was. You also had more traditional classical instruments like tabla and sitar. What’s really cool is that even though I was only in eight grade and my cousin was only in ninth grade, they gave both of us the opportunity to play with them, and they were super friendly and inviting, even despite any mistakes or hesitation I had. There were no judgments, just the spirit of experimenting and playing. I still look at that night with a lot of fondness. 

What I played that day, it was really incredible to get that opportunity and for it to be so low-key and welcoming. My cousin is also there on the stage (dressed in white), he’s an incredibly skilled Carnatic vocalist.

Recently I was inspired by all this and for my midterm assignment for the class I’m writing this for, I made a music track with mridangam and electronic effects in Ableton (free trial came clutch). I initially spent a lot of time worrying about doing it right and perfectly planning everything, but it only came together when I just let go of that and just messed around, re-arranging recordings of me playing and layering effects. Just doing it was fun, and I learned a lot from it.

shameless plug to my video

There’s a free-ness with something like this that’s a really different experience from traditional Carnatic music. At the same time, there’s a level of playfulness with Carnatic music too, as when you’re playing on stage you don’t practice with the other artist beforehand, and what happens there is often unexpected and exciting, and I’m reminded of that when I see jazz music too. To me says a lot about the inherent commonalities in what makes music so rewarding to make and experience.

[mossmustdie]

going to my best friend's bharatanatyam arangetram today and im so so excited and happy for her and so honored that she invited me i love her i love my friends

[corntort]

ahhhhh.... <3 indra's arangetram <3

[cosmicrhetoric]

i wasn't expecting patel to bring up ahalya 😬😬😬 literally number one folk story that made me go hey are you fucking serious? when i was like 13

[karuppuezhutthu-blog]

13 வயதில் பரதநாட்டிய அரங்கேற்றம்: சீன சிறுமி சாதனை | Bharatanatyam arangetram at 13 year Chinese girl

பீஜிங்: சீனாவில் 13 வயதான லீ முசி என்ற சிறுமி பரதநாட்டிய கலையில் அரங்கேற்றம் புரிந்து சாதனை படைத்துள்ளார். தென்னிந்தியாவின் பாரம்பரிய நடனக் கலையான பரதநாட்டியத்தை சீனாவில் அந்த நாட்டின் குருவிடம் பயின்று, அங்கேயே அரங்கேற்றம் செய்த முதல் நபர் என அவர் அறியப்படுகிறார். அண்மையில் நடந்த இந்த அரங்கேற்ற நிகழ்வில் பிரபல பரதநாட்டிய நடன கலைஞர் லீலா சாம்சன் மற்றும் இந்திய பிரதிநிதிகள் சிலர் பங்கேற்றனர். இந்த…

[rahuratna]

Just wanted to say your fic Arangetram made me feel so hopeful. I love seeing other people of color infuse the rich world of JJK with their culture and enriching the universe as a whole. Gorgeous prose!

@thehikmatcut Thank you so much! I do think that this is such an important part of POC being in fandom; not being afraid to make yourself seen and taking pride in your identity. Whether it's fanfic, fanart or some headcanons, the more we actively enmesh ourselves with the things we love, the more we come to enjoy and experience them fully.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this piece because I took so much from my personal experience and culture, and found ways to weave it into JJK lore. The end product is a labour of love, and I'm so glad that I get to share it with all of you!