Youth Voices: Increasing Awareness Through Art

Kaliya and Krishna - how are these concepts being used in Kathak traditionally:

In traditional kathak, the concept of Kaliya Daman, the taming of the serpent Kaliya, is shown by storytelling and positions that dancers take. The dancers represent opposite characters: the playful side of young Krishna and the menacing Kaliya, switching using paltas and changing their expressions from a peaceful smile to sharp eyes and a smirk. Krishna is known as "The Supreme Dancer" so it is fitting that we tell a lot of his stories in kathak. It is said that when he danced on Kaliya's head, his feet made the sound "Ta, Thai and Tat" which are the bols for tatkar which have been reinforced and practiced by students in all classes. The meaning of Kaliya Daman can be interpreted in many ways. Some that are seen in traditional kathak are the prevalence of good over evil and purifying oneself.

Kaliya and Krisha - how are they being applied in the Kaliya dance piece?

In the YC dance piece, we are becoming Kaliya. We are showing the sharpness and careless attitude Kaliya has towards his environment in many ways. Everything we are using in our piece, the jewelry, the parandi, the props, are all made with single use plastics. This, hopefully, will strike a chord with the audience, since climate change is spreading all around the world and it affects everyone. Krishna, played by some of the younger students, is the one who tries to slow the pollution by cleaning up the plastic that is polluting the river. The song that we end with explains to the audience that we are both Krishna and Kaliya. We are the ones who are polluting our planet and it is also our job to clean up our messes.

What are five things people can do to improve the environment?

1) Use reusable containers more often. This will reduce the amount of single year plastics that are used in daily life, such as plastic water bottles.

2) Compost and recycle more. Most people do not actively use their recycle and compost bins. Both of these ways of discarding materials actually help the environment instead of rotting in a trash heap.

3) Conserve energy. Only turn on the lights when you need them and remember to turn off your water taps.

4) Use eco-friendly transportation. Instead of taking the car whenever you feel like, you can walk, bike or carpool with your friends instead.

5) Plant more trees and plants. When more trees grow on Earth, it increases the amount of oxygen we have. Mass deforestation is happening worldwide, so planting trees and plants can slowly help increase the amount of greenery.

By Ananya Sonpar, Apprentice member of the Chitresh Das Youth Company