Voices from Youth Company: We can make a difference
As you may or may not know, the word “Kathak” comes from “katha”, which means “story”. So what kinds of stories do we tell in Kathak?
Well, one example is the story of Kaliya and Krishna. The piece Kaliyadaman is something CDI students learn in the beginning levels. This composition shows Krishna and his friends happily playing with a ball - until it falls into the river, where the evil snake Kaliya has poisoned the water! Krishna bravely jumps in and defeats Kaliya, making the river clean again. One concept this piece shows (and personally I think this is really beautiful) is that we are both Kaliya and Krishna. Humans have polluted our waters, but we also have the power to turn around and fix our mistakes.
In this year’s school show, Jamuna ke Tat Par, we are expanding on this story. The Youth Company is performing a piece called “Kaliya”, and as the name suggests, we are portraying the evil snake who has polluted the waters. To really make this idea come to life, we are actually incorporating single-use plastic into our piece, which is super creative! Not only are we dancing with plastic bags, we are also wearing plastic earrings, necklaces, and parandis. And we made them ourselves from things we collected at home!
And guess what? This ties back to the idea that we are both Kaliya and Krishna: On stage, we are wearing and dancing with plastic to represent Kaliya polluting the river. But in real life, we are taking single-use plastic and turning it into something useful!
In the end, it’s YOUR choice: Will you be Kaliya, or will you be Krishna?
Here are FIVE things you can do to be like Krishna and help our environment!
Reduce the amount of things you buy!
When you buy lots of things, you are increasing the amount of limited resources and energy you’re taking from our environment. Buy less things, and your impact on the environment could reduce dramatically! Before you buy something, just ask yourself: Do I really need this? This is also a very useful tip if you want to save money.
Use eco-friendly transportation!
Instead of driving somewhere, try walking or biking! Walking and biking has pretty much no impact on the environment! Too far to walk? Don’t have a bike? Carpooling saves energy because two people are traveling in only one car. For example, I carpool to Kathak class with one of my friends!
Reuse and Recycle!
The Youth Company reuses plastic for their Kaliya piece. You could do something similar! Why not make your own jewelry with plastic bottle caps like us? Or you could repurpose old clothes by cutting them up and using them as rags. Use the back of random papers you have as scratch paper or drawing paper! There are SO MANY fun things you could do by just reusing old things!
Save Water!
Water is such a valuable resource, and there are many ways you can conserve it. You can take shorter showers and make sure you turn the tap off when you brush your teeth. If you have a garden, try to buy more drought-friendly plants! Succulents are a great choice. Make sure your sprinklers don’t make the sidewalk wet - cement doesn’t need to be watered!
Spread the word!
The more people that are aware about protecting our environment, the better! Tell as many people as you can about helping our environment. If everyone works together, we can make a huge difference. The power is yours! Be Krishna!
By Ruhee Nigham, Youth Company Member