Tomorrow's World: 'We must avoid violence'

The children of today are the adults of tomorrow. They shape the future and reflect our progress. What are the hopes and aspirations of our kids? How do they see themselves contributing to a better world? What do they feel, think, believe and desire? Every week, we zoom in on the youth living in the Emirates, and hear what they have to say

Child of the Week: Maathanghi Ravishankar

Books are her best companion and dance is her creative expression. Maathanghi Ravishankar appears to be an ordinary eight-year old but her achievements are quite extraordinary. Having trained professionally in the Indian classical dance forms of Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi from the tender age of two, she performs regularly for large audiences in the UAE and abroad.

Maathanghi was recently awarded the Nritya Mohini prize for her seven-day performance in Chennai, India. Her very first stage show also took place in India, held at the Russian Embassy during the India's 50th Independence Day celebrations. Since then, her talent has been appreciated and her graceful moves further refined.

Maathanghi studies in grade four at the Indian High School in Dubai. She hails from an artistically inclined Tamilian family and was influenced from a young age by her mother. A lawyer by profession, Nandini Ravishankar taught classical dance to students when they lived in India. It was Maathanghi's early exposure and observation of the classical dances that sparked her interest and revealed her aptitude. Her father Ravishankar's continuous support and encouragement of the art has opened up opportunities to perform for charitable causes and cultural functions.

SHE SAYS:

Dancing is very important to me, but what I would really like to be when I grow up is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) collector. That means, someone who helps the poor and sees that every citizen has enough safety. A collector is not a politician but an administrative officer with government powers. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. T.N. Seshan, the former chief election commissioner of India, who was visiting Dubai as the guest of honour at singer Unni Krishnan's concert. When I heard his speech, it inspired me to become a collector.

I love reading about the world and eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Vivekanand and Sir C.V. Raman. I really admire Kofi Annan, the U.N. Secretary General, because he is a leader of world peace. Countries should not fight with each other and we must try and avoid harm, violence and bloodshed. People should at least try to solve problems without fighting, so practicing non-violence is a good idea. I know it is tough, because when my three-year old brother Raghuram troubles me, I am tempted to pinch him.

What makes me the happiest is celebrating my birthday with friends, receiving presents, and cutting the cake together. People say I am quiet, but I am quite talkative with my friends on the schoolbus or during recess. We play hide-and-seek, cat & mouse and lots of fun games together.

Math is my best subject at school. I also enjoy painting, drawing and writing stories in my free time. The Jungle Book is my favourite tale, and I adore the character of Mowgli. What scares me the most is the thought of wild animals attacking me, especially a lion or a snake.

Many of the dances I perform are also derived from stories of Indian mythology, so it's very interesting to learn about them. When I understand the meaning of the song I am dancing to, it helps with my expression and movements. This summer I danced in Chennai for seven days to the stories narrated from the book Bhagwatham.

Every year, my holidays are spent in India where I train with a dance master. I also perform on stage there with live musicians playing the song whereas in Dubai I dance to recorded music.
One of my most memorable experiences was when I was interviewed by reporters of Sun TV and Vijai TV in India and it made me feel special.

Apart from dance and studies, my parents have explained to me that it is important to be a good person. They would like me to be a girl who has good manners, speaks respectfully and is kind and truthful. When I performed a show at the S.S.S.V.S. Trust, a school for underprivileged girl children near Chennai, I realised how lucky I am. By becoming a collector when I grow up, I would like to help these girls and other unfortunate people.