Embracing motherhood

- Sree Veena Mani
e-mail: dancingveenamani@gmail.com

July 3, 2026

Most of us here have embraced motherhood. We know what it feels like to not wear our bells for almost a year - whether it is for the first baby or the second. Looking back at both my pregnancies, there is one thing I can say with certainty: it may be a pause from being on stage, but it is never a pause from dance itself.

Through both my pregnancies, I continued to grow as an artiste. I focused on understanding the theoretical aspects of Nritya, exploring them in depth with my guru, and strengthening my foundation as a practitioner. One of those explorations was even featured on this website.

Perhaps, the children too picked up something along the way. Garbha Sanskar, as it is called.

It is believed that what an expecting mother listens to, experiences, or pursues with passion influences the child within her. The foetus is said to hear and respond while in the womb. The story of Abhimanyu learning the technique of entering the Chakravyuha while still in his mother's womb is often cited as an example of this belief.

I live with the hope that my daughter has absorbed something from my journey. She smiles every time I sing "Lekha" from Bhamakalapam. It has become my go-to song whenever she needs to be comforted. And yes, she was less than a month old when I began writing this.

Some of my fondest memories of both these phases have been connected to dance - as a teacher, a curious researcher, and a Rasika.

Having to stay at home turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I watched almost every podcast and Kuchipudi performance I could find online. My little companion through these viewings was my son. He shows interest in dance not just for the movements, but also for the rhythm. At two and a half, he moves his tiny feet to different dance tunes when I sing for him. His favourite is Shivashtakam, and his favourite movement is attempting the Nataraja pose.

Children watch and learn. They do not always need to be taught.

For my second child, the many times I watched Vempati Master's Ksheera Sagara Madanam will hopefully be enough for her to develop an appreciation for art. My firstborn, who watched it alongside me, now recognises the rhythmic patterns and identifies different elements that appear in the dance drama. He knows how to show the Chakram - which he simply calls "the wheel".

For parents wondering what their child's screen time should include, dance dramas can be a wonderful option. They are educational, non-addictive, and offer a different kind of engagement with fewer distractions.

This phase also made me realise how differently children perceive the world around them. Their interpretations may not always be technically correct, but they come from imagination - and imagination is essential for growth. My son refers to the Asuras as crows because of their costumes. Isn't that a beautiful example of how a child sees and creates meaning?

Through this phase of life, my only hope is that my children discover whatever inspires them, pursue it with passion, and immerse themselves deeply in it. In many ways, I have grown as an artiste while my children have grown around me.

The mantra? Stay focused. Be disciplined. Be calm.

Sree Veena Mani is a Kuchipudi dancer training under gurus Seetha Nagajothy and P Nagajothy. She has been a professional solo performer for 15 years. Her research papers have been published by Nartanam - a quarterly dance journal on dance. Veena is also a journalist currently working with the Times of India. Her pieces on art and culture have appeared in the New Indian Express and Business Standard, where she worked previously.

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