Dancing in Thatha's Footsteps

A lovely story about how dance can bring generations together

When Varun gets pulled along to his sister’s dance class one weekend, he is immediately entranced by the grace and rhythm of the bharatanatyam beats. Varun tries to copy his sister’s steps, but is quickly discouraged by his friends and his sister’s classmates - boys don’t dance! Luckily for Varun, his thatha (“grandfather” in Tamil) steps in to save the day.
I enjoyed the plot of this book very much, as male bharatanatyam dancers are much less common than female dancers. But I also loved the care and detail that the artist included in the background illustrations - the storefronts in the opening pages, the posters of hand and foot positions in the dance classroom, the vocalized dance rhythms that follow Varun wherever he goes - they all combine to beautifully enhance the story.