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Sandhya Keelery

@childofmonsoon

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Bharatanatyam | Parenting | Adulting
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My earworm this week🎧 and naturally, it turned into some dance

शबनम के दो क़तरे यूँ ही टहल रहे
शाख़ों पे वो मोती से खेल रहे
बेफ़िक्र से इक दूजे में घुल रहे
जब हों जुदा, ख़यालों में मिल रहे
ख़यालों में यूँ ये गुफ़्तगू चलती रहे

Two drops of dew, wandering carefree,
playing like pearls upon the branches.
Carefree, they dissolve into one another;
and when apart, they meet in thought.
May this conversation keep going, even in their thoughts.

#pashminafitoor by @childofmonsoon

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15 days ago

Learning some nattuvangam from @malavikanair.dance . ❤️

We probably dance together only every few months these days, but somehow it always feels like we’re picking up exactly where we left off.

Maybe it’s because we spent so many years in the same dance class. Week after week, sitting next to each other, learning adavus, watching each other get better, messing things up, figuring things out, performing, growing up. There was so much life happening around the dancing too.

I think I’m only now realising how much that kind of shared practice gives you. Not just the dance itself, but a way of knowing each other. You’ve watched someone dance for years, and watched them become a person alongside it.

So even when there are months or years between dancing together, there’s something familiar to return to.

Thank you for the Nattuvangam 101, Maku! ❤️ by @childofmonsoon

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a month ago

Made this for fun after practice.

There’s something I really like about the looseness of it: finding some movements, finding some moments, and not taking myself too seriously.

I often have little dialogues running in my head. Things I imagine being said, reactions, thoughts, the bit before something is said… And then somewhere between what I’m imagining and what actually comes out, it changes.

Because it has to, I suppose.

The same line can feel completely different depending on what you’re watching, what you’re imagining, what mood you’re in. Sometimes a particular word catches me. Sometimes it’s a look. Sometimes I don’t even know why a movement feels right. It just does in that moment.

And maybe that’s why I like playing around with it.

This song had been living in my head for a while. The lyrics, the singing, the musicality… I couldn’t not visualise.

So, this. Might delete later. by @childofmonsoon

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a month ago

We’re back. 🌿

The first Adavu Meet reminded us of something simple but important: there is value in showing up just to practice.

No performances. No pressure. Just three hours of revisiting fundamentals, refining technique, moving through rhythm, and sharing space with fellow Bharatanatyam practitioners.

So we’re doing it again.

Whether you joined us in May or have been meaning to come, we’d love to see you there.

📅 Saturday, 18th July
🕙 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 Erika Klütz Schule, Altona

The session includes:
• Warm-up and body conditioning
• Foundational adavu practice
• Creative exploration using adavus

Open to all Bharatanatyam practitioners.

Let’s continue building a practice community in Hamburg, one adavu at a time.

Registration via the QR code or DM for details. taken in Erika Klütz Schule für Theatertanz und Tanzpädagogik by @childofmonsoon

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3 months ago

Our very first Adavu Meetup in Hamburg… and our hearts are full 🤍

Thank you to every single one of you who showed up, danced, and shared your energy with us.There was something so special about going back to the basics together and of course, ending strong with a jati ✨

A big thank you to @moksha_movements for supporting us with the organisation and for the beautiful space 🌿

It was not just a meetup, but a space we all want to return to 💃 We can’t wait to share more updates on upcoming meetups!

#bharatnatyam #adavumeetup #dancerlife #indianingermany taken in Hamburg, Germany by @childofmonsoon

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5 months ago

When a Bharatanatyam jati accidentally syncs with Bridgerton music...safe to say the rehearsal turned into 50% adavus, 50% goofing around 🤭

And honestly… that’s exactly the vibe we’re bringing to our Adavu Meetup 💃
Technique, rhythm, laughter, and community!

Registration link is in my bio :))

#dancersofinstagram #adavumeetup #bharatnatyam #indianingermany #expatsingermany taken in Bremen, Germany by @childofmonsoon

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6 months ago

Hamburg!
Introducing the Adavu Meet:
A first-of-its-kind practice space for Bharatanatyam in Hamburg, and hopefully the beginning of many more to come.

Starting this International Dance Day week by coming back to the basics: showing up, practicing, and moving together.

🗓 1st May, Friday
⏰ 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 Erika Klütz Schule, Altona

QR code: Details and registration

Open to Bharatanatyam practitioners
Come as you are, and let’s build this together!

#hamburg #adavumeetup taken in Erika Klütz Schule für Theatertanz und Tanzpädagogik by @childofmonsoon

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6 months ago

We spend our lives building connections - memories, shared histories, the accumulated weight of being known. Then we watch someone’s mind quietly dismantle all of it. Not through choice. Not through cruelty. Just time. Just biology.

Here is Thaatha sitting behind me, watching me dance. I danced for Paati. And Thaatha watched.

I don’t know what he’s thinking. I don’t know if he recognizes me. I don’t know if he’s present or lost somewhere inside his fragmenting mind.

What must it be like inside his head? What clarity breaks through the confusion? What does he see when he looks at me? A stranger with a familiar face? An echo of something he can’t grasp?

Does he know that he used to know me?

This is the thing we don’t talk about: the specific, devastating loss of being unknown by someone who once knew you completely. Offering love to someone who can’t fully receive it anymore. Performing for an audience who may not comprehend what they’re witnessing.

I danced anyway. Because what else was there to do? Maybe something registered… and even if it didn’t, I needed to give what I could while there’s still someone there to give it to, while I have the privilege to spend that time with them.

Dancing was what I could offer. For her. For me. Maybe even for him, in whatever way he could receive it.

It’s a heartache I wasn’t prepared for. We are all, eventually, watching someone disappear. Or we are the ones disappearing. by @childofmonsoon

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6 months ago

Some friendships begin long before you realize what they’ll become :)
We grew up sharing the same dance floor, understanding each other through rhythm, routine, and all the unspoken things that came with it.

Now, we’re learning to know each other beyond that space, bringing in the rest of who we are, in ways our teenage selves never imagined.

To more dance and more us, @malavikanair 🫶 taken in Dance Class by @childofmonsoon

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7 months ago

February was filled with dancing, snow, and more dancing, ending with a sunny, spring morning session with @tanya_keni

Manifesting more dance, warmth, and sun for 2026! by @childofmonsoon

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8 months ago

Sun, Bharatnatyam and @childofmonsoon !!!
Always the best time practicing together ❤️

The highlight of today's practice was @anand.unni_official 's tishra jati. What an amazing choreography. Took us a looooong time and multiple attempts to learn it. Thank you for this beautiful piece.

#bharatnatyam #dancelife by @childofmonsoon

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8 months ago

“You, Nataraja, are the Lord of Dance.
I offer my dance to you.”

At my Arangetram, this was my quiet bow to Shiva :
not as a god I’ve always known,
but as the eternal dancer I am still learning to understand.

Seeking blessings.
Seeking rhythm.
Seeking something deeper than form.

Today I offer my dance not out of certainty, but curiosity.
To see if through movement, I might meet more of him.
#shivaratri by @childofmonsoon

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8 months ago