Chandran has been using this place for the past six years. The room also has two big bookshelves that hold a huge collection of literature on art, dance and discipline. The collapsible doors on one side of the hall open to a large balcony lined with potted plants. It is a well-lit space and despite the scorching Delhi heat outside, you can feel a breeze wafting through the room. “The cool draft is thanks to the huge Gulmohar tree that overlooks next to the balcony. The tree is very symbolic. I owe the name of my dance academy, Natya Vriksha (the dancing tree) to the same. It is house to almost ten parrots,” says Chandra.

The tidy well arranged space does look like it was put together with a lot of thought. But Chandra insists that she does not do up the room often, “I cannot guarantee adding an unusual artifact, I am content with the way it is at present,” she says.
The room also serves as Chandran’s dance school, and as we speak to Chandran, her students file into the room and get ready for their practice session. Chandran then strikes the wooden stick she has in her hands on a rectangular plate this is enough to get pin drop silence from the small group that has assembled. Then slowly with every stroke of the wooden stick the room starts resonating with the sound of feet tapping on the floor. Chandran watches over her students’ movements and smiles as they move in sync to the beats.