CHENNAI:Sitting on her chair, dressed in a green kurta, she welcomes us with a warm smile. A name plate reads ‘Kavitha Ramu, Director — Department of Museums’. While she fulfilled her father’s wish of becoming an IAS officer, she did not lose sight of her dream — of becoming a dancer. “I have been dancing since I was five; I’ve been a regular performer since I was in school. Hence, I am used to that strict regime of practice and performance. From the beginning I knew that I will not stop dancing and I stuck to that,” she says.
The IAS officer recently launched ‘AbunDance’, a video series through which she aims to explore various social and environmental issues that exist in our society. Kavitha has been exploring different topics and issues through her dance. This is the first time that she is doing it in the form of a video. Having explored several issues including dowry, female infanticide, environmental issues, etc, Kavitha spoke about the importance of sanitation and hygiene. “There is a line in the video which says there are no toilets in the rural areas and so women have to go outside. And this is not very hygienic and also quite difficult,” she says. She further insists that there is a need for a comprehensive health and hygiene intervention, and that it is the responsibility of every individual and not just that of the sanitation personnel or the government.“Since I’m a dancer I feel that dance is the best medium through which I can convey a message.
I wish I was a good orator too so that I could talk about it as well,” she says. Ask her about the name ‘AbunDance’ and Kavitha says that it is because dance is part of the word and also because there is an array of topics she would like to cover through this platform. “The important thing here is that it is not just through dance, I would like to reach out to people through a variety of mediums including dance videos, talk shows with prominent faces or even a lecture. And I want to convey a wider perspective and give a different meaning to it” she adds.
The lyrics for the dance video are in Tamil, which has been shot in the form of a narrative. It has dancers in a pair of jeans and kurta. Kavitha chose these costumes to be able to connect better with the audience. “In the video I have used both classical and freestyle moves. I wanted to make it more inclusive so that everybody would appreciate it. There are a lot of abhinaya elements within the dance itself but at the same time there are a lot of freestyle steps which makes it more aesthetically appealing as well,”
she shares.
In a society where defecation is openly practiced, even in urban areas, the lack of proper sanitation is a matter of concern. Kavitha points out that it is time we put our foot down and make an effort to bring a change. She adds that the mindset of people should change first. “For instance, when we’re abroad we’re so careful about even dropping a piece of paper on the road. However, here it is not like that, we take everything for granted. It is extremely important that we address such issues and try and get a solution for it” she says.
Watch her video on: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmbA6tbPIKA