Writing
Print journalism produced at Columbia Journalism School, unless otherwise noted
Kathak: Dancing in the River of Tradition
Contemporary performers of the ancient dance form are reconsidering whether movement vocabulary or Vaishnav Hinduism are the heart of its practice.
AHMEDABAD, MARCH 20—On a hot afternoon in March, Dhwani Emmanuel threw open the windows of her dance studio, trying to tempt a breeze. Several adult students joined her, turning on the fans before tying on their ankle bells.
Emmanuel’s father, a Kathak musician, set up his harmonium and mandolin on a bench by the wall. As he began to play, the students gathered in the center of the room and focused their attention on Emmanuel. Dressed in a loose purple shift, she led the students through a series of slow hand and arm gestures. These moves are the grounding premise of an Indian dance form known as Kathak, a form of dance so deeply rooted in Hindu culture that its performance is considered a prayer.
Emmanuel’s teaching is demonstrative and multi-sensory. As students tapped their fingers on the opposite palm, they murmured syllables that correspond to the gesture and the musical notation. Everyone had a chance to use their ankle bells when the music picked up, stamping their bare feet in a complex pattern.
Turning Camel Milk Into Cosmetics
The main ingredient for Penelope Shihab's Skinue line comes from camels owned by Dubai's royal family.
Published in The Story Exchange
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 12—Penelope Shihab doesn’t look like a “mad scientist.” She usually wears a bright, fashionable hijab and a wide smile in addition to her lab coat.
But her product certainly is quirky enough to qualify: She makes beauty products from camel milk.
Why camel milk? Shihab was inspired by the Bedouin community in her home country of Jordan. The Bedouins have long been aware of the milk’s “special aspects,” she explains. Stable proteins, more stable than those in cow’s milk, provide long-lasting antibodies—perfect for fighting acne and keeping skin hydrated, she says.
Forgotten in Rockaway: Post-Sandy Aid Yet to Materialize
Arverne, Queens residents are frustrated by the pace and cost of the recovery—and say that their community has been overlooked by the de Blasio administration
ARVERNE, NY, OCTOBER 25—When Marcia Bennett handed the keys to her Rockaway craftsman bungalow to a construction crew, Build It Back, the city agency in charge of post-Hurricane Sandy restoration, told her she could return in four to six months. Instead, two years later, pools of water collect around her house’s hundred-year-old, unrestored foundation. Funding for Build It Back and other recovery efforts are set to expire in December of this year, leaving residents like Bennett in the lurch with no contingency plan after the presidential election.
“I’ve been trying to hold it together, my family, my marriage, my patience,” Bennett said. “It takes lots of prayer.”