New Delhi, May 29 -- I was visiting my daughter's school for a parent-teacher meeting, when I caught a glimpse of students practising adavus or fundamental Bharatanatyam steps, in one of the classrooms as I was climbing up a flight of stairs. It brought back memories of that unfettered joy of learning the classical form as a child, and practising the intricacies of Varnam-a composition combining nritya (dance) with abhinaya (expression)-with my classmates.

"Did you know I was the youngest in my batch to have the arangetram (a performance that marks the completion of formal training in Bharatanatyam)?" I remarked to my daughter. "Really? You?" she blurted out in disbelief, as she watched me huffing and puffing up four flights of stairs-I ...