Manasi Joshi's blog

  Achilles and His Weak Heel Achilles is a famous warrior from Greek mythology. He is best known for his great strength and bravery in the Trojan War, which was told in the story called The Iliad by Homer. Achilles had a very special body. He could not be hurt anywhere — except for one small part: his heel. This weak spot is now called the “Achilles’ heel.” People use this phrase even today to mean a person’s only weakness. When Achilles was a baby, his mother, Thetis, wanted to make him immortal. So, she dipped him into a magical river called the River Styx. This river had the power to protect anyone from harm. But while dipping him, she held him by his heel. That part of his body did not touch the water, so it stayed weak and unprotected. When Achilles grew up, he became a great warrior. But during the war, he was shot in the heel with an arrow and died because of this weakness. Thetis – A Loving but Controlling Mother Achilles’ mother, Thetis, was a sea goddess. She loved her so...

My Kala Guru Shree Late Dharamshi Shah and Shree Jigar Bhatt. Learning Kathak for seven years is like walking through a beautiful rainbow, one color at a time. Each color of the rainbow — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet — can be seen as a symbol for each year of growth in this classical dance journey. In the first year, the dancer is like the color red. Red stands for energy and passion. At this stage, the dancer begins to learn the basic steps, footwork (tatkaar), hand movements (hastaks), and simple expressions. Everything is new and exciting. Just like red is bright and bold, the dancer's spirit is full of enthusiasm and curiosity. The second year is orange, the color of creativity and joy. Now the dancer starts feeling the rhythm more deeply and can enjoy the music with movement. She begins to learn simple tukras and small tihais. Orange shows that the dancer’s body and mind are becoming one with the dance. She learns how to balance expressions and movemen...

  -My kala Guru Shree Dr. Ashok Patel taught me this technique in painting .    Wash Technique in Drawing – The wash technique is a popular method used in drawing and painting, especially with ink or watercolor. It involves applying a thin, transparent layer of color or ink over a surface to create a smooth area of tone or shading. This technique is called a "wash" because the color is watered down and flows smoothly over the paper, much like a gentle wash of water. How It Works To create a wash, an artist first dilutes ink, watercolor, or sometimes even acrylic paint with water. Then, using a soft brush, the artist spreads this watery color over the paper in an even layer. The goal is to cover an area with a light, transparent color that can be built up in layers if needed. There are two main types of wash: 1. Flat Wash – A flat wash is when the color is spread evenly across the whole area. The tone stays the same from one end to the other. This is useful for skies, back...