A lady, who is utterly devoted to her city, Banaras, considering it her favorite spot in the entire planet. Every evening, she would relax by the Ganga ghat while drinking tea. She was all about moving to the beat of music when, out of nowhere, she...
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In the morning, the sun was playing hide and seek with the dark clouds, not in the mood to show up yet. Jeevika stepped out after getting ready and spotted Yuvan chilling on the couch, sipping his coffee and enjoying the cool breeze on his face. She grinned because lately Yuvan has been working from home and getting to hang out with the family more.
"Good morning," Jeevika wishes him and takes a seat freshly beside him on the same couch, and by now Yuvan has finished sipping on his coffee.
"Hmmm," Yuvan hmm, just readjusting his head on her lap with his hands resting on his chest.
"What's going on? You woke up for a bit and now you're back to sleep?" Jeevika asked with a frown as she checked his forehead to see if he had a fever, but she felt relieved when she saw that his temperature was normal.
"When did you get hooked on dancing?"
Yuvan suddenly popped the question, catching Jeevika off guard. This made her feel puzzled as he had never asked her before. It seemed like he was keen to know all about her, even the detailed stuff that she usually kept to herself. Yuvan didn't want to spend his time clubbing alone or bottle everything up inside. Instead, he preferred having his wife to share conversations with and even leaned on her shoulder, a side of him that he didn't usually show in front of others.
"Back in the day, my amma would dance and I'd just bounce around, watching her. Whenever she danced, I felt this unique sense of calm. It's a precious gift from my mom that I never want to let go."
Jeevika was chatting away with a big smile on her face, reminiscing about the good old days when her dad would sing and her mom would dance. Nowadays, with Vasundhara unable to dance due to knee pain, Jeevika steps in to help her dad with the singing duties. She was determined to keep the music alive for her father. Even though it was tough on her mom, she knew her health came first. Jeevika discovered a newfound love for dancing through all of this.
"Why didn't you ever come out of your shell and try auditioning?" Yuvan was curious because her dancing skills are so impressive, and it's clear that she is passionate about it and dreams of opening her own studio.
"Actually, our Dhanuk caste still doesn't have any status. I never really considered that because I enjoy dancing on the ghat. It's something I think about a lot, and all I want is to open a dance studio where I can be happy and fulfil my dream."
Yuvan was really paying attention to her, even when she let out a dry chuckle. He didn't want to bug her with a million questions swirling in his head. He was aware that some people still hold onto caste prejudices, and it seemed like Jeevika was unintentionally reflecting that. In Uttar Pradesh, the Dhanuks are classified as a Scheduled Caste, with a population of 651,355 people according to the 2011 Census of India. There's some confusion about how the term 'Dhanuk' is used in the state, and some experts link this caste more with the scheduled tribe Bhil.
