Tulsi
Badrinath

Dance

I vividly remember walking with my mother down the long road that connected my home to that of my future gurus, Shanta and Dhananjayan. My mother Seeta bore a tray laden with fruits and flowers, covered with a bright red napkin. I was eight years old, easily embarrassed by my parents who seemed to do things others did not. Why were we carrying fruits in such a conspicuous manner when no one else on the road was? Traditionally in the South, instruction in the arts begins on the auspicious day of Vijayadashami, when fruits and flowers, among other things, are offered to the goddess Saraswati. In 1975, I did not begin on this particular day, but my mother’s friend had told her to take fruits and flowers nonetheless for this first meeting of teacher and pupil.