Strutting Lightbugs

‘Strutting Lightbugs’ is a genre-bender in as much as it addresses one of the most divisive, yet hyper-relevant, social issue of today, smartly wrapped in the foil of an ever-popular fiction trope – the supernatural thriller. Kalam Babu and Lavanya Nukavarapu spin a riveting yarn that seamlessly fuses Indian culture, classical dance, spirituality, spirits, mythology, human psychology, history and most tellingly, gender boundaries and gender angst. Their lucid storytelling and fluid style transport the reader into a mysterious, even sinister, world that moves seamlessly between the past and present. The protagonist, and with them the reader, are hurled into crises beyond the realms of normal human experience, yet somehow, magically, amidst all its breathlessness, the authors underline, and celebrate, the best facets of human behaviour, and the gender neutrality of art. As a classical Indian dancer, I have, whilst plying my passion across the globe as a dancer, teacher and speaker, have very often encountered dancers whose biological gender, in their societies, have stigmatised their desire to dance – often irrevocably. The fact that it is not ‘manly’ for a man to have a desire to dance the dance forms traditionally associated with women, the fact that transgenders face ridicule for simply wanting to dance to the rhythms of normal life in their own manner, the fact that we bracket activities, vocations, sartorial sense into gender boxes based on man-made traditions and societal norms – are real, compelling issues. The human race has come a long way in terms of evolution, and the 21st century, and beyond, are perhaps the best period in our cumulative lives, to come to terms with, and blithely celebrate our diversity – to accept each other as we are, and want to be – not merely by how we look, what we wear, how we speak and how we ‘must be’ just because that’s the way we ‘should be.’ ‘Strutting Lightbugs’ celebrates this ethos, this belief, and does so in a manner that engagingly entertains, yet effortlessly enlightens! I would go even as far as calling it a morality tale, and in the very best traditions of that genre, it is one that should well stand the test of time – past, present and future.I wish Kalam and Lavanya every success with ‘Strutting Lightbugs’ and look forward to many more fabulous fables from them.
—Sohini RoychowdhuryDancer, Producer, Speaker Founder – Sohinimoksha World Dance & Communications (Madrid-Kolkata-Berlin)Founder – Sohinimoksha Artes de la India (Madrid)www.sohinimoksha.com