Hi, I’m Arnav.

I first encountered Chhau while preparing for an international dance competition. I wanted to perform a form I had never tried. My mentor had trained in Mayurbhanj Chhau, and he introduced me to it.

At first, Chhau belonged to one performance. Then it kept coming back. During school rehearsals, our group returned to its movements for fun, even when we were meant to practise something else. The form had stayed in our bodies.

I wanted to know what I had performed. Why was Mayurbhanj Chhau unmasked? How did it relate to Seraikella and Purulia? What were the drums telling the dancer? Where did the movement words come from?

The answers rarely sat in one place. A book explained history. A paper discussed movement. A video showed a performance without naming what I was watching. As a beginner, I often needed the right question before I found a useful answer.

This project grew from those searches. I did not begin with a campaign or a claim I would save a tradition. I began with one performance, then a habit, then a long list of questions. I wanted to build the introduction I had needed.

Acting taught me to take direction and notice small choices in gesture, focus, and timing. Dance made those choices physical. School research taught me to record where an answer came from and to say when the evidence did not settle a question.