There’s much action in the library of Akshay Pratishthan, a school in Vasant Kunj that provides inclusive eduation to differently-abled children.

Nobody shushes you in this library where 60-odd children thump to a different beat as their dance teacher Madhura Phatak walks between the ill-formed rows, gently correcting their postures and mudras. In Phatak’s class, there are 20 students who suffer from polio, Down’s syndrome and cerebral palsy.

“For me, the challenge lies in making them see their strength. The stress is not so much on the mudras but more on the meditative aspect. Meditation helps the students open up while dance makes them aware of the rhythm in their body and gives them the spirit of freedom,” says Phatak, a disciple of Shovana Narayan. Phatak has been teaching Kathak at Akshay Pratishthan since January.

Her one-and-a-half hour class begins with a 15-minute meditation session. “Most of the differently-abled children lack companionship. They need someone to speak to and meditation is very therapeutic,” says Phatak who also works as a Cultural Programme Officer with the Embassy of Switzerland. In January, she decided to devote more time to her dance.

Up next, Phatak is choreographing the group for a performance in October to be held at the Swiss Embassy grounds.