A fierce black statue of Kaliya — the serpent who polluted the waters of the Jamuna river and was defeated by Lord Krishna — greeted guests May 22 in the lobby of The Samuel Johnson, Jr. Performing Arts Center in San Bruno, California. The Chitresh Das Institute‘s Annual School Show was happening live for the first time since the Covid pandemic. Read the full story.
Dancers and Teachers Anita Pai (right) and Srishti Prabha (left) tie ghungroos, dance bells, around their ankles as they get ready for their first live show post-pandemic. 
Dance students in the Beginning Level 1 class rehearse their steps backstage before performing Kaliyadaman. 
Youth Dance company members help each other with their costumes. The dancers are wearing adornments made from recycled materials — bottle cap earrings and necklaces and hair pieces made from trash bags collected over the span of one year. 
Youth Company students perform classic footwork patterns, with trash bags in hand, representing pollution in the piece titled Kaliya.
Photos by Sree Sripathy for India Currents.
Anita Pai (left) and Preeti Zalavadia (right) look down at the Yamuna, saddened by the pollution in the river, in the piece Yamuna Devi & Kaliya. (Photo by Sree Sripathy for India Currents) 
Managing Director and Teacher Preeti Zalavadia adjusts her earrings backstage. 
Artistic Director Charlotte Moraga thanks the musicians on stage after the program ends. 
Executive Director Celine Schein Das stands with musicians (left to right), Daibashish Gangopadhyay, Nilan Chaudhuri and Saneyee Purandare Bhattacharjee during the Chitresh Das Institute school portrait.
