Margam ... And So - Part 1 by Sudha Rao

It's 1968. A young Indian girl arrives with her family to a very white and very chilly Dunedin. Who would have thought her love of Classical South Indian dance would be the bridge to acceptance and belonging?

Told by Rebecca Gregory

Photo: Used with permission

Photo: Sudha Rao

Originally from South India, Sudha Rao now lives in Wellington though her early New Zealand years were spent in Dunedin. Sudha has had a long standing involvement with the arts, primarily as a dancer but has been writing for many years. Sudha is a University of Otago graduate, has a degree in South Indian Classical Dance (from India) as well as a Master in Public Management degree. Sudha’s poems have been published in Blackmail Press, in the anthology of New Zealand writings, Sunset at the Estuary and in the UK anthology Poets’ quest for God .  Sudha is keen to continue with her writing and is currently exploring the prospect of using some her poems to make a multi media performance piece. Sudha would dearly like to find time to pick up her bass guitar to play with her husband, who enjoys jamming on his guitars as his past-time. At present she has a day-job as a public servant.