A Shadow Of Smile.....

And I blushed as my daughter's in-laws declared how proud they are of my little girl. “After all” they announced, “how many young women could claim to be an exponent in NangiarKoothu – the hallmark of Ambalavasi women”!

But my dear girl-  if only they knew that pulling off this charade of a coy, happy bride is just another effortless “performance” for a dancer ! To think that your childhood sweetheart and now husband cannot see the shadow of smile etched on your face since the day his parents announced that you will have to stop dancing in public, post marriage…..

 ** NangiarKoothu is a dying dance form of Kerala - performed traditionally by the women of the Ambalavasi Nambiar community

This is a fictional take in response to below prompts..... 


100 Words on Saturday - Write Tribe


Prompt: And I blushed

 

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22 comments:

  1. Bhavya NJuly 21, 2013 at 10:57 PM

    So sad that this is the fate of many dancers, performers in our society. You brought out the pathos and the hippocrisy of the 'modern' kerala society very well. I love that these 100 words have so many layers to it.... you are getting better and better at this :)

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  2. SwaramJuly 21, 2013 at 11:08 PM

    :(

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  3. Kajal KapurJuly 21, 2013 at 11:53 PM

    This makes me sad :( So many women who cannot pursue their dreams and aspirations and die in obscurity.

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  4. kalpana solsiJuly 22, 2013 at 10:08 AM

    Dancing in public is considered as' not good' by many people . But dance is a higher form of devotion. Hope all the people could understand this.

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  5. Vidya SuryJuly 22, 2013 at 10:53 AM

    Beautiful. And sad at the same time. I love how you combined the prompts, Meena!

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  6. ShivaJuly 22, 2013 at 11:09 AM

    tangential interpretation to the prompt...loved it.. yes speaks volumes of the sweetened hypocrisy of the In Law society...they want the bride to be an all inclusive package to boast about... but ofcourse it is only open for private viewing

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  7. Shilpa GargJuly 22, 2013 at 12:22 PM

    Aah! So sad. How women have to give up their careers and passions after marriage!
    Loved the way you have worked on 2 prompts, Meena! Too cool :)

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  8. MridulaJuly 22, 2013 at 4:44 PM

    I go with Shiva here ...

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  9. Afshan ShaikJuly 22, 2013 at 6:28 PM

    Not allowed to dance after wedding . That's bad !what all a new bride has to do to fake the emotions :--o sigh

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  10. AnonymousJuly 22, 2013 at 8:56 PM

    You have brilliantly discussed both prompts in 100 words and it is sad that a form of dance is not acceptable after marriage.

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  11. UnknownJuly 23, 2013 at 2:19 AM

    I wish girls never had any chains tied over their dreams!

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  12. PixieJuly 23, 2013 at 7:17 AM

    So sad...
    :(
    But, I have a friend who was made to quit dancing after marriage and she became a shadow of her original self! :(
    She's better now, because she is dancing again.. but, it came with too high a price!

    Beautifully written :)

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  13. AnonymousJuly 23, 2013 at 8:46 AM

    Unfortunately this is only the first of things she will have to give up

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  14. KalpanaJuly 23, 2013 at 1:34 PM

    Yes - this is the reality. Since it is a fictional representation and not actually your daughter - I can debate with you. She should have clarified before marriage that she will continue dancing and doing whatever she wants to do. Why should marriage change anything for a woman? Do husbands give up anything?

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  15. Sridevi 1974July 23, 2013 at 4:57 PM

    Lovely and a sad reflection of the times we live in :)

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  16. AnonymousJuly 23, 2013 at 7:29 PM

    Now it completely escapes me, what I was about to write as a comment that day and the net never allowed me to :) two memes into one.. :) and a second one on dance, you shd start thinking of dance if not already, woman ... xoxoxo

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  17. AnonymousJuly 23, 2013 at 8:23 PM

    It made me sad to read on the plight of many dancers who don't pursue their passion owing to prejudices of a society who impose rules on us, rules that are not meant to be true. Happy for ur guts to write this one. Btw, love ur blog design:)
    Cheers
    Vishal

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  18. SuzyJuly 24, 2013 at 3:09 PM

    Why is it that it's always the girls that have to sacrifice their talents. Such a tragedy that talent goes to waste. Thanks for writing on my prompt.

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  19. RoshniJuly 25, 2013 at 1:21 AM

    I feel like I interpreting it a bit differently from the rest. It seems that the in-laws are now proud of having a dancer as a bahu, whereas they had initially declared that she could not dance after marriage. Am I totally wrong?!

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  20. UnknownJuly 26, 2013 at 10:30 AM

    I agree with Roshni's view. One day the in-laws will realise how talented their DIL is!! My DIL is a Bharatnatyam dancer. We always encourage her.

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  21. Corinne RodriguesJuly 28, 2013 at 9:28 PM

    Nicely done, Meena. Why are people so worried about what others say - and how many loved ones dreams are sacrificed at the altar of 'society'! :(

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