We Danced Our Bindis Off

“In the middle of this starkness I suddenly found some colour. That colour was dance. Buoyed by the rhythm of dance, I have discovered a new language in my body. I have discovered the overwhelming taste of life.”

~Kolkata Sanved Dancer

The above quote is from a brochure describing Kolkata Sanved, an organization that focuses on the rehabilitation of rescued and high risk girls using dance and dance movement therapy (DMT). And today was a day that reflected what can be achieved. We went to their head office and were greeted not only by friendly staff, but no water or electricity. As the director said, “Today is a day where work gets done with pen and paper!”.

After the ritual of being offered chai, we went to a larger facility where we were taken through a dance based program. It’s difficult to sum up what we did but the biggest impression I was left with was the deliberate method of taking the girls through various stages of healing. They begin by offering ways for the girls to re-connect with their own bodies. Imagine having your physical body under the control of a pimp, trafficker or john. Disassociation with the physical body is highly likely and the program gives the opportunity to connect to physical expression without necessarily using words.

We experienced this through role playing and movement using sound and talking jibberish. Many people are able to access feelings that have been tamped down deeply into the psyche of the cells, particularly anger. They then move onto addressing emotional issues, self expression and eventually empowerment. The process is aimed at those who’ve been rescued for quite some time and are ready to step deeper into their healing. They are supported by other DMT trainers and eventually have an opportunity to become a DMT trainer themselves.

We were all treated to a dance performed by the girls. This was simply inspiring as they were so self-possessed and confident in their movement, eye contact and expression. We were truly bearing witness to what is possible following such hideous circumstances. To quote another dancer, “Earlier, I couldn’t talk to anyone. I didn’t know how to communicate effectively. But now I feel comfortable speaking to different people. I can sense how much I have changed.”

The other highlight happened during lunch when some Seva Challengers were invited to stand up and share what their fundraising effort entailed. I was sitting watching the reaction of a few of the girls as the stories were translated. When they were told we each raised over $20,000 USD, their eyes grew large and you could see the light shine through. They were given the perspective that we were all there to support them, that we cared what their futures looked like and that we all worked really hard to be there with them.

One of my pre-trip intentions was the hope that those that we’ve been supporting over the past 12 months would know that someone in the world wanted to hear their story. That someone wanted them to know that they were loved and cared about. That people, who they were never likely to meet from so many different parts of the world, took an interest in their future.

And that someone was us…all of us collectively, proudly standing by their sides and dancing our bindis off.

*Bindi=the decorative dot between the eyebrows to symbolize the Third Eye