Hi everyone!

Since my last update, I read two more books: The Report Card and The Fish in Room 11. I liked both books a lot. In The Report Card, a young girl known for getting good grades takes a stand against the grades and testing system at school by purposely getting a bad grade. She and a friend decide to show parents and teachers that learning isn’t all about competing for grades and getting high scores, it’s about what you learn and how much fun you have while doing it! Just like with reading for this fundraiser… while I have a goal, I’m enjoying all that I’m reading!

In the Fish in Room 11, a little boy was found at a hotel by the sea.
Raised at the hotel, he doesn’t have many interesting things happen to him, so when he meets a family of mermaids, he builds suspicion around them. He decides to disguise the the family as hotel guests… but it’s not very easy to hide a family that has fins and tails!

I also participated in the Chicago Public Library’s Summer Learning Challenge Explore and Soar Reading Program which concluded this week. They track how much we read and what we’re exploring and reading every week. For our success, both my brother and I won some rewards, including free books and raffle entries.

Last week, I also finished up my intense bharatanatyam dance and storytelling camp. In the last two weeks of dance, I learned a nritanjali (nrita = pure dance anjali = to give offerings). This dance is not expressional, but it has many cool steps. We had an amazing opportunity to participate in Chicago’s Dance in the Parks Festival, it was SO cool to perform on stage in front of so many people and share with them the story of Shiva through dance.

Dancing helps me use my eyes, emotions, creativity and strength to tell stories and share beautiful art.

Thank you all for reading and participating in this fundraiser with me… feel free to invite others to support this work. I’ll be back soon with more updates.

Anika

PS – looks like the video I posted last time didn’t show up, here’s the link: https://vimeo.com/134047114. Remember it’s the practice dance. I’ll share the actual performance when my mom uploads the video

Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for your support so far! These past few weeks, I’ve read 4 books — Yoga for Everyone, Blubber, Hoot and Who Was Marie Curie? I didn’t realize the read-a-thon ends so soon, so I may need to adjust my goal from 20 to 10 books… I’ll keep you posted!

In the meantime, I’ve been attending an awesome story-telling and bharatanatyam dance camp. This past week we learned the Ramayana, a story about Lord Rama. Lord Rama was born of King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya and he also had three brothers: Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna. They lived in Ayodhya. One day Rama and Lakshmana were sent on a mission with Sage Vashishta. After the mission, they arrived in Mithila, where they came to King Janaka’s palace. At the palace, King Janaka wanted his daughter Sita to get married. All these suitors came to try their hand for Sita by trying to lift Shiva’s bow. Only Lord Rama passed this test of strength, and Janaka’s daughter Sita wed Rama and together they resided in Ayodhya. As the eldest of four sons Rama was to become king when his father retired from ruling. But his stepmother wanted her son Bharata, Rama’s younger brother, to become king. Because the king had once granted her any two boons or wishes she desired for saving his life, she wanted Rama banished and Bharata to become king. King Dasharatha had to honor his word and Rama was sent away. To honor her commitment to be by her husband’s side, Sita went with him to the forest. Bharata was not happy with what his mother did and asked Rama to return. He didn’t want to go against his father’s wish and said he would return after his 14 years of banishment were over. Bharata would save his spot for him and gladly turn the kingdom back over to him. Later, an evil king Ravana captured Sita. Using the power or Hanuman and his army of monkeys, Rama and team rescued Sita and together they returned safely to Ayodhya, and Rama was crowned king. This story teaches us to always follow our dharma, or duty.

We learn a lot about Hindu stories and mythology in this camp. I’ve attached a video of me practicing some dance poses and expressions depicting Shiva, the god of dance (password: shivadance). Hope you enjoy!

Til the next time,
Anika