Combating Anhedonia With A Dance Drama

No small talk or small eats? Count me in!

Before the event. My dad and me, photographed by Sivakami, my daughter.

Why does every social event demand small talk and serve small eats? How can that be good for us?

I wanted to break that cycle, and still not mope around at home.

I invited myself to the Dance Drama held on Sunday evening at my daughter’s school auditorium. The students could attend with their parents, but Sivakami was petered out after her Sports Day event the previous day. I requested her teacher let me attend with my dad instead, and the teacher agreed, even standing outside the auditorium with our (free) entry passes.

Outside the school. Photo by the author.

Chandalika is a dance drama written by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1938. He has also written India’s national anthem.

His story centers around a daughter of a Chandal — people who deal with corpse disposal. The Chandals are lower caste in India, and a lot of hard work by social workers and prominent Chandals has gone into the uplifting of their caste.