Dancing Between Worlds

 Welcome back to Unapologetically Both

Today, we are exploring 'Dancing Between Worlds'—how the ancient rhythm of Bharatanatyam didn't just keep me connected to my Indian heritage while living in Germany, but how it ultimately kept me connected to myself.

When I first moved from India to Germany in 2001, I spent a lot of time trying to look forward. I wanted to master the language, understand the social structures, and build a career. I thought that to fit into my new German life, I had to pack my past away in a box. When your life is that fluid—when you are constantly adapting,  to the world around you—it is incredibly easy to lose your center. But for me, no matter how fast the world spins, there is one place where the noise stops completely. For me that is my dance Bharatnatyam. 

For many years, while building a life in Germany, I was also learning and practicing Bharatanatyam. And looking back now, I realize something important. I wasn't just learning a dance form. I was carrying a piece of home with me.

When people think about staying connected to their culture abroad, they often think about food, Festivals, Language, Family traditions. And yes, all of those matter. But for me, Bharatanatyam became something deeper. 

living abroad changes you. It should. That's part of the experience. You adapt. You learn new ways of thinking. You absorb different values. You become more than the person who first arrived. But sometimes, while growing into a new version of yourself, you need something that reminds you where you started. For me, that reminder was dance.

There is something incredibly grounding about that. Because Bharatanatyam is not just movement. It is storytelling. Discipline. History. Devotion. Precision.

In a world obsessed with speed and instant results, Bharatanatyam teaches patience. You cannot rush mastery. You cannot shortcut discipline. You cannot download experience. You simply return. Again and again.

The older I get, the more I realize that meaningful things are rarely built quickly. Friendships take time. Communities take time. Confidence takes time. Healing takes time. And beautiful art takes time. Bharatanatyam reminds me of that every single week.

For me, dance became a conversation with myself. One that didn't require words.

Today, when I step into class, I am still a student. Still learning. Still making mistakes. Still improving. And I love that. Because it reminds me that growth never ends.  Life is still teaching me. And I am still listening.

So if there is something in your life that connects you back to yourself... a hobby... a tradition... a creative practice... a passion... Protect it. So, I want to leave you with a challenge today: What is that one thing—that art, that melody, that movement—that makes you feel completely like yourself? Don't leave it in your past. Bring it into your present. Let it ground you.

Being Unapologetically Both means recognizing that your roots are not meant to tie you down—they are meant to keep you steady while you stretch your branches across the world. You can love the efficiency of your European life and still bow to the ancient rhythms of your ancestors. You don't have to choose.

This is Unapologetically Both. And this is where we stop choosing between who we've been and who we're becoming... and start dancing gracefully between both.