The Student, The Guru, The Sun

In Bharatanatyam, we begin every class by touching the ground and then our hearts, a small gesture that says we are grateful for the earth that holds us and the teacher who shapes us. The guru-shishya relationship is the oldest classroom in the world.

My guru does not simply teach me adavus. She teaches me how to sit, how to breathe, how to count. She tells me stories about the deities in the varnams, and slowly the syllables of the jatis begin to mean something. A guru is like the sun; you do not see the sun's own light as you see a lamp, but the sun is what makes everything else visible.

The discipline is hard. There are days the practice feels like a mountain, and the mirror shows nothing but mistakes. But a good guru watches you practise even when you think she is not looking, and she knows exactly when to push and when to praise.

I am only in Grade 10, but I already know that the values of this art, patience, humility, devotion and precision, are what will stay with me for life. To every student who is tired in class, I would say: the sun is patient. So is the art.