5. Seeds of Rangapravesam

I think it is fair to say that Rangapravesam/Arangetram is something that every Indian classical dancer considers at some point in their dance journey. Personally, I have attended enough of these dance debuts in my formative years as a dancer that it is something that I always saw myself doing. The trouble was that my mom *also* attended those events and knew just how labor intensive a task it is to not just train for it as a dancer but also for the family to put this monumental event together. Needless to say, from the very beginning, I knew that my mom was not too keen on my doing Rangapravesam and I just got comfortable with the idea of not doing it over the years.

That all changed when I was one of the presenters for my friend Shruthi's Rangapravesam in the summer of 2023. I attended several of Shruthi's practice sessions in the process of rehearsing my emcee lines. On the day of her event, I watched Shruthi's amazing performance from start to finish and I was completely awestruck. All those thoughts of Rangapravesam I silently buried all those years ago came rushing back. At the end of the performance, Anu aunty and I were talking about how well Shruthi's event went, when suddenly, Anu aunty asked me when my Rangapravesam was going to be, as if she read my mind! All I could do was stare at my mom who was standing right by me. Without thinking, I blurted out that I wanted to do my Rangapravesam.

My Mom later told me that although she was not keen on my doing it, she realized she did not want to be between me and my dreams and that she and dad are always there to support me if Rangapravesam is what I truly wanted to do. And the rest is history!