ABSTRACT

After Chidambaram I transferred to Chennai where, for the next two years, I taught at a government school. I lived at the school in one room which initially did not have a fan; it was almost unbearable in the intense, humid heat of a city situated close to the equator. I had studied dance in Canada, and was naturally curious about what Indian dance might be like. So, without ever seeing an Indian dance recital, I decided to combine teaching with studying Indian dance. By studying Indian dance, in this case, Bharata Natyam, I was given an entrée into traditional south Indian Hindu culture and an introduction to the diverse social and religious structures that comprise Hinduism.