October 1 is celebrated as World Elder’s Day, and Elder Aid—an organisation that works with elders in the city— presents an evening of classical dance by Nrithyaami. Titled Temple Arts Of Kerala, It will feature Nangiar Koothu and Mohiniattam. Vandana Nadig, the co-founder of Elder Aid and a Mohiniattam dancer, says, “I learnt Mohiniattam, just before I turned 40 and have been dancing for 10 years now. I perform to tell people that age is just a number and should not stop you from following your dreams.”
Jayashree Mundkur, renowned Mohiniattam dancer-teacher and founder of Nrityaami, is 72 and feels deeply for the cause.
“Elders Day is important in today’s time. When you become old, people tend to ignore your work and experience. What many don’t understand is that we are still not ready to go into hibernation and have a lot to contribute. The beauty of being an elder in our country is that most are taken care of and given their pride of place. But, there comes a time, when most children move out of the country and the elders are left behind. That is where Elder-aid comes in ,” says Jayashree, who adds that the speciality of Nrityaami is that most dancers “started learning after the age of 40 and have performed their Arangetram too.” Temple Arts Of Kerala will be staged on September 29 at 6 pm at ADA Rangamandira. Tickets are priced at ₹500, and are available on bookmyshow.com.
Proceeds will go towards Kodagu and Kerala flood relief