The glittering border of your maroon and green costume reflected your mood so well. Where you were happy to be finally performing on the stage after so long, it was evident that there was something disturbing you. The dove eyes gleamed out of happiness even then I couldn’t help but notice a shade of grey on your spirit, something was obviously disturbing you. For a moment I suspected that what I saw was a twitch of a facial muscle as if you were trying to suppress some physical pain. As we got the dress on you, it seemed like the tailor had stitched it a tad big for you, but then when we tried the dress two days back, I remember that you filled the dress perfectly well as if it was second skin on you.
Your fair complexion glowed brighter as the bulbs around the mirror shone and let their warm yellow light fall on your face, highlighting your eyes and making the golden surya and chandra on your hair sparkle as if they were for real. The painted lips looked nothing less than a rose bud and the heavily made up eyes would make any man’s heart flutter. You were always a stunner and that day you looked like you were ready to kill someone with your beauty.
It was such a pure joy to work for you, to work with you. You never had any tantrums or threw your weight around like the young rising stars do these days. The other make-up artists always burned green out of envy whenever they saw how gently and kindly Meera treated me. With that charming smile of yours and the perfect manners, you always knew how to behave and how to carry yourself. Unlike the others girls of your age, you were never brash and were matured for your age. You were my Meera, the one I tended to like a tiny plant with the dreams of seeing you one day fully grown and realizing all your dreams.
I could tell like only a mother can, that there was something amiss that day, you were not your usual self. There was pain and grief on your face, sadness and desperation in your eyes and your spirit seemed weak.
That day on stage when you fell, my heart literally came up till my throat. I was shocked beyond words, then they came and took you away on a stretcher. Nobody told me that it would be the last time I will see you, but I know deep in my heart that you knew it would be your last dance, your last bharatnatyam performance and that too in front of your only love, your Lord Krishna.
My child, did you know when you went out on the stage that night that this would be your swan song ? That this would be your last dance? Why did you hide from all of us, the fact that this wretched cancer was eating you away from within. Why did you go on stage that night to perform when you were advised against even standing up for more than a few minutes? You were smarter than me, you fulfilled all your dreams and moved on from this world, never giving me an opportunity to even tell you during all the years we were together that you were my daughter, that they took you away from me and raised as their own and so that I could watch you grow I started as your nanny and graduated to become your make-up artist. Â
Notes:
surya : The sun shaped ornament adorning the hair of the dancer
chandra : The moon shaped ornament adorning the hair of the dancer
bharatnatyam : Classical dance form of Tamil Nadu, India
Today’s story is based on the letter D where Leo and I have chosen to write stories on the word Dance.
Oh wow..that’s a beautifully woven tale. So much pain and sorrow…
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Beautifully written and love the aesthetics behind dance form as an expression of life. Truly alive and passionate. Well done. I can visualize the imagery through this passion for dance.
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The last sentence took away the meaning of the whole story to a different plane ! Appreciate the way you conjured it up… great going, Bhavya !
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Wow beautifully narrated. From the description of her beauty to the dance aesthetics to the emotions upheaval, the grief – so well done Bhavya!
Each day is a treat reading your stories!!
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This is great, I loved reading it. I don’t have a child but the makeup artist parallel was still very powerful for me. The concept of not knowing the right way to tell your child what they really mean to you seems scary but tragically relatable. Thank you for writing this, it was well done.
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Beautifully narrated!
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This is a gr8 story…a touching one…gr8 work again…
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Wonderfully narrated with the make-up artist parallel. Emotions are well woven along with the Dance as a concept.
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u do heartwrenching stories so v welll!
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Such an expertly woven narrative!
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What a lovely, touching, sad but beautiful story! So beautifully written, Bhavya! The tenderness of the emotions, the depth of the mother’s love, the pain of losing a child – once and then again, finally – is so gently captured in this narrative. And all in the backdrop of a dance offering to the Divine. Very well done!
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I thought it is going to be a vibrant post about dance but we have a sad and touching tale here <3 As always awesome
I came to your blog with a sense of expectation and I am not disappointed! When you began, I sensed that there was tragedy in the offing. I was kind of hoping it was something else, but the fact that she passed away doing something she loved, warmed my heart. How many of us can say that of our last moments? You make me think, Bhavya. Probably more than anyone else I have read before. Take a bow.
I was mesmerized by the description in the begining but the end brought a lump in my throat!!
Swathi
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This one gave me goosebumps in that ending paragraph. Loved the way the story is weaved. Great work Bhavya.
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What can I say that everyone else hasn’t said already. You are a true master of the written word.
Beautiful. Makes my heart ache.
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Wow beautifully narrated!
I had gooseflesh.. I really did. Perhaps it was meant to be, perhaps it always had to be lost..
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Such sadness and mysteries in this world…
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Some stories touch your heart in a very special way – today that was yours. This was beautiful …. yet so very tragic.
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OMG!! That’s a very touching and sad story which is narrated so well, Bhavya!
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Wonderful… For me too..D was for dance. But yours is a story while mine is just random thoughts.. Nice discovering your blog.
Ohh the ending is so touching… the story is so beautifully written, the description of preparation before the dance is so realistic. I loved reading it.
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Lots of secrets and sorrow. Good storytelling
Goosebump post. Wonderfully written Bhavya. Loved the pathos your words have created.