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Padma Venkatraman

A Time to Dance Paperback – May 12, 2015

by Padma Venkatraman (Author)

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Padma Venkatraman’s inspiring story of a young girl’s struggle to regain her passion and find a new peace is told lyrically through verse that captures the beauty and mystery of India and the ancient bharatanatyam dance form. This is a stunning novel about spiritual awakening, the power of art, and above all, the courage and resilience of the human spirit.

Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.

Reading age

12 - 17 years
Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Grade level

7 - 9
Lexile measure

720L
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.88 x 8.25 inches
Publisher

Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication date

May 12, 2015
ISBN-10

0147514401
ISBN-13

978-0147514400
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Venkatraman has created a rich, exotic, and fully human world that dazzles and delights. Her way with prose reflects Veda's with dancing: 'Nothing else fills me with as much elation as chasing down soaring music' This novel accomplishes exactly that."--Providence Sunday Journal

"[A] powerful depiction of a teen girl struggling to recover from an accident."--The Chicago Tribune

* " Set against a cardamom, melted butter, and semolina sojji-wafted landscape, the novel’s emotional expression and accompanying music impel the reader to share Veda’s belief that “Shiva dances everywhere. In everyone. In everything.”--Booklist, starred review

* " A beautiful integration of art, religion, compassion and connection.”--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “ Told in verse, this story is magnificently strong as Veda’s determination dances off the page and into the reader’s heart.”--VOYA, starred review

* “This exceptional novel, told entirely in verse, captures beautifully the emotions of a girl forced to deal with a number of challenges and how she overcomes them on her way to becoming a confident young woman. It is sure to appeal to readers who are also trying to find their place in the world.”--School Library Journal, starred review — various

About the Author

Padma Venkatraman (www.padmasbooks.com) is an oceanographer by training and a writer by choice. Her critically acclaimed novels Climbing the Stairs and Island’s End were both ALA/YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, Booklist Editor's Choice BBYAs, Amelia Bloomer list selections and CCBC choices, in addition to winning several other honors and awards (such as the South Asia Book Award, Paterson Prize, Julia Ward Howe BAC award, NYPL Book for the Teen Age, Kirkus Best Book of the Year, Booksense Notable, and PW Flying Start). Padma was born in India, but is now an American citizen and lives with her family in Rhode Island.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

PROLOGUE

Temple of the Dancing God

Clinging to the free end of Ma’s sari,
I follow the tired shuffle of other pilgrims’ feet
into the cool darkness of the temple
where sweat-smell mingles with the fragrance of incense.

Pa’s hand rests heavy on my curls.
The priest drops a pinch of sacred ash into Ma’s palm
and she smears it on my forehead
above the red dot
she paints between my eyebrows each morning.

I push through the rustling curtain of women’s saris
and men’s white veshtis,
tiptoeing to see better.
A bronze statue of Shiva,
four-armed God of dance, glistens.
He balances on His right leg alone,
His left raised parallel to earth,
the crescent moon a sparkling jewel He wears
in His matted hair.

Carved high into the temple’s granite walls,
I spy other celestial dancers.
“Pa?” I tug at my father’s shirt.
He lifts me onto his shoulders
but the sculptures are
too far away to touch.

After the crowd empties out
into the sunshine of the temple courtyard
I, alone,
slip back
into the soft blackness of the empty hall,
spot a step-ladder propped against
my dancer-filled wall
and climb. Up, up, up, to the very top.
Leaning forward, I trace
dancing feet
with my fingertips.

“What are you doing, little one?” A priest
steadies my ladder. “You don’t have to climb
ladders to reach God.
He dances within all He creates.
Come down.”
I run my fingers
along the curve
of each stone heel.

The priest’s laugh rumbles up into my ears.
“Place a hand on your chest.
Can you feel Shiva’s feet moving inside you?”
I press on my chest. Feel bony ribs. Under them, thumping,
faint echoes of a dancing rhythm: thom thom thom.
Shiva outside me, gleaming in the temple sanctum.
Yet also leaping hidden, inside my body.

“God is everywhere. In every body. In everything.
He is born, at different times, in different places,
with different names.
He dances in heaven as Shiva, creator of universes;
He lived on earth as Buddha,
human incarnation of compassion;
And as you can see, he moves within you.
Now, please, come down, little one.”

I’m half-way down the ladder when Pa and Ma rush back in.
Pa prostrates, laying his squat body flat on the stone floor, thanking God.
Ma thanks the priest,
words of gratitude bursting from her like sobs.
“Searched—the other four temples—couldn’t find her-
—so scared—what if she’d left the temple complex—
—run outside the walls— into the city—”
As we leave, Ma’s thin fingers pinch my shoulders
tight as tongs roasting rotis over an open flame.
Pa scolds, “You could have burst your head
climbing a ladder like that!”

My head is bursting
with images
of stone dancers come alive, the tips of their bare toes twirling
with sounds
of the tiny bells on their anklets twinkling
with music.

A TIME TO DANCE

Hoping and Waiting

I race upstairs,
kick my sandals off outside our front door,
burst into our apartment. “I’m in the finals!”
My grandmother, Paati,
surges out of the kitchen like a ship in full sail,
her white sari dazzling
in the afternoon light that streams through our open windows.
I fling my arms around her.
Drink in the spicy-sweet basil-and-aloe scent of her soap.
Paati doesn’t say congratulations. She doesn’t need to.
I feel her words in the warmth of her hug.

“I knew you’d make it.” Pa plucks me
out of Paati’s embrace into his arms.
“Finals of what?” Ma says.
I’ve only been talking
about the Bharatanatyam dance competition
for months.
Mostly to Paati, and to Pa, but Ma’s hearing is perfect
and we don’t live in a palace with soundproof walls.

Paati retreats into the kitchen.
Paati’s told me she doesn’t think it’s her place
to interfere with her son and daughter-in-law.
Pa’s eyes rove from Ma to me,
caught in the middle as always.

Ma’s diamond earrings
—the only reminder of her wealthy past—
flash at me like angry eyes.
“Veda, you need to study hard.
If you don’t do well in your exams this year—”
For once, my voice doesn’t stick in my throat. “I am studying hard.
To be a dancer.
I’m not planning to become an engineer. Or a doctor.”
Or any other profession Ma finds respectable.
Ma launches into her usual lecture. “Dancing is no career for a middle-class girl.
You need to study something useful in college so you can get a well-paid job.”
I sigh extra-loud.
My dance teacher, Uday anna, isn’t rich. But
his house is larger than ours.
Clearly, he earns more than
Ma at her bank job and Pa at his library.
Ma goes on and on.
Back when I was younger, I’d struggle to be better at school
for Ma’s sake.
But numbers and letters soon grew too large for me to hold,
and I grew far away from them
and Ma grew out of patience.

Paati places steaming sojji, my favorite snack, on our table.
The sweet, buttery smell of cooked semolina is tempting
but I leave the plate untouched.
March into the bedroom Paati and I share.
Slam the door.
Pa knocks. Says, “Come out, Veda. Eat something.”
“Leave her alone,” Ma says. “She knows where to find food if she’s hungry.”

I probably shouldn’t have slammed the door.
But Ma never even said congratulations.
She’s never pretended my dancing made her happy.
But never has a performance mattered more to me
than being chosen for the finals of this competition.
All my life, Ma’s been
hoping
I’ll do well at science and mathematics
so I could end up becoming what she wanted to be:
an engineer.

All my life, I’ve been
waiting
for her to appreciate my love
of the one thing I excel at:
Bharatanatyam dance.

Speaking with Hands

“Steps came to you early. Speech came late,” Paati said.
She’d tell how she watched me pull myself up by the bars
of my cradle at eight months,
eager to toddle on my own two feet.
Months before others my age, she said,
I could shape thoughts with my fingers.
My body wasn’t shy.
While words stumbled in my throat,
losing their way long before they reached my lips,
like lotus buds blossoming, my hands spoke my first sentences
shaping themselves into hasta mudras:
the hand symbols of Indian classical dance.

Paati said, “It was as if you remembered
the sign language of Bharatanatyam
from a previous life you’d lived as a dancer
before being reincarnated as my granddaughter.”

Paati always understood everything I said with my hands.

Dance Practice

I’m a palm tree swaying in a storm wind.

My dance teacher, Uday anna,
sits crosslegged on the ground
tapping beats out on
his hollow wooden block with a stick.

I leap and land on my sure feet,
excitement mounting as Uday anna’s rhythm speeds
challenging me to repeat my routine faster.
My heels strike the ground fast as firesparks.
Streams of sweat trickle down my neck.
My black braid lifts into the air, then whips around my waist.

Nothing else fills me with as much elation
as chasing down soaring music,
catching and pinning rhythms to the ground with my feet,
proud as a hunter rejoicing in his skill.

The climax brings me to the hardest pose of all:
Balancing on my left leg, I extend my right
upward in a vertical split.
Then I bend my right knee, bring my right foot near my ear
showing how, when an earring fell off as he danced,
Shiva picked it up with his toes
and looped it back over his earlobe.

Locking my breath in my chest to keep from trembling,
I push myself to hold the pose
for an entire eight beat cycle.
A familiar thrill shoots up my spine.
I enjoy testing
my stamina, my balance.

Uday anna’s stick clatters to the floor. He claps.
“Pull that off and you’re sure to win.”

Both feet on the ground again, I piroutte and leap,
rejoicing in the speed at which
my body obeys my mind’s commands,
celebrating my strong, skilled body—
the center and source of my joy,
the one thing I can count on,
the one thing that never fails me.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Nancy Paulsen Books (May 12, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0147514401
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0147514400
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 17 years
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 720L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.88 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #406,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Teen & Young Adult Dance Fiction
- #433 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Emotions & Feelings
- #1,110 in Teen & Young Adult Social Issues

Customer Reviews:
113 ratings

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Padma Venkatraman

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Award winning American author, Padma Venkatraman, has worked as chief scientist on oceanographic ships, spent time under the sea, directed a school, and lived in 5 countries. Her 3 novels, A TIME TO DANCE, ISLAND’S END and CLIMBING THE STAIRS, were released to multiple starred reviews (12), received numerous honors (> 50 best book e.g. ALA, IRA Notable; Booklist, Kirkus, NYPL, Yalsa BBYA; IBBY outstanding; and > 10 state lists), and won several national and international awards. She gives keynote addresses, speaks on TV and radio, serves on panels, conducts workshops, has been chief guest at international author festivals and visits schools all over the world.

Padma Venkatraman's most recent novel, A TIME TO DANCE, was released in May 2014 to starred reviews in Kirkus, Booklist, VOYA, SLJ, and BCCB and rave reviews online and in newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The Providence Journal and The Denver Post. A TIME TO DANCE accumulated numerous awards and honors, such as: ALA Notable, ALA/YALSA BBYA, Booklist Editor's Choice Best Books, Booklist Top 10 art bk, CCBC Choices

Crystal Kite Finalist, CSML Best Books, Eliot Rosewater (IN) masterlist, IBBY Outstanding bk yod, IRA Notable (NBGS), Julia Ward Howe Boston Authors Club honor bk, Kirkus Best Books, Mighty Girl Top 10 Character Driven Books, New York Public Library Top 25, New York City Reads (#NYC365), Nutmeg Award (CT) master list, Rebecca Caudill (IL) master list, Red dot award (Singapore), Sanoc/Saba hn, Sequoyah (OK) master list etc.

Padma Venkatraman’s second novel, ISLAND’s END, was released to four starred reviews (Booklist, Kirkus, SLJ and VOYA), won the international South Asia Book Award and the national Paterson Prize, was a finalist for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite (NE-SCBWI) and the Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe award, and received several other honors, including an ALA/Amelia Bloomer selection, American Library Association (ALA)/ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA), Booklist Editor’s Choice/Best Book, Kirkus Best Book, and a Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) choice.

Padma’s debut, CLIMBING THE STAIRS, was released to three starred reviews (Booklist, PW and VOYA), won the Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe award and the ASTAL Rhode Island Book of the year award; was shortlisted for RARI (Reading Across Rhode Island), the Cybil award and state awards in NJ, ME, SC and UT; and was also honored with an American Library Association (ALA)/ Amelia Bloomer List citation, ALA/Young Adult Library Association (YALSA) Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA), Booklist Editor’s Choice/Best Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education Best Book, Capitol Choice, Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) choice, Children’s Literature Network (CLN) Top 20, CBC/NCSS (National Council of Social Studies) Notable, NYPL Best Book, Pennsylvania School Library Association (PASLA) Top 40, etc.

Visit Padma Venkatraman at www.padmavenkatraman.com.

Customer reviews

5 star		83%
4 star		9%
3 star		4%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Cary J Stegman

A story that warmly embraces your heart and mind….

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 4, 2022

Verified Purchase

If we all could only find our own dance to grace our lives. A heartwarming book that embraces the beautiful dance of life..

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 11, 2019

Verified Purchase

I really liked this hood. It is written in verse style, to it’s easy to read, it moves quickly. I loved the things Veda learns through her successes, trials and loss.

“To me, Karma isn’t about divine reward or retribution. Karma is about making wise choices to create a better future. It’s taking responsibility for your actions. Karma helps me see every hurdle as a chance to grow into a stronger, kinder soul.”

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Gomathy Naranan

Lovely and inspirational!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

Another winner by Padma Venkatraman! The book is written in a lyrical form, which is poetic and evokes the beauty of the story. Veda a young dancer, loses her leg in an accident, and is forced to come to terms with it. She realizes her dream of becoming a dancer, as she reawakens to the spiritual beauty of dance, and finds love along the way.

I could not put it down, and wanted to find out about the next phase in Veda's and Govinda's lives:)

One person found this helpful

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Kindle CustomerTop Contributor: Coloring

An amazing and moving read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

I loved this book on so many levels. You can really feel and identify with Veda and her struggles through the vivid characterisation.Then you can identify with the art form brought to life by understanding the immersive devotion required by its practitioners. The author captured the spiritual and meditative release practicing any art offers. And the heartwarming story arc of not letting the loss of a limb and societal emphasis on physical perfection define you was the bonus.

2 people found this helpful

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Visnuvarthini Manoharan

It is an awesome book to read especially if you love to dance

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

I have read this book before. It is an awesome book to read especially if you love to dance. I have done numerous performances and this book has given me a character that I can relate to. Also great advice in this book behind the story that is told.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 9, 2019

Verified Purchase

Lovely book to add to my collection
Came in great condition

Helpful

Agatha S. Henry

Love that the mugs are lightweight

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 22, 2017

Verified Purchase

Love that the mugs are lightweight . You can easily forget you have hot drinks in them because the outside don't get hot like ceramic mugs.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

It’s definitely a good read book. Quick to the main points but cute overall.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Merle

... book for my sister for her birthday and she loved it. She just couldn't put it down

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 30, 2014

Verified Purchase

I bought this book for my sister for her birthday and she loved it. She just couldn't put it down. Well worth the money.

Cal

What a truly inspiring book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book was about a girl who is a dancer in India, who looses her leg. With courage and determination she still continues her dream of becoming a dancer.

Shantikathirvelu

Good

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on December 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

Nice

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A Time to Dance Paperback – May 12, 2015

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