Akshaya Nataraj: Bhangra Baller

 

Name: Akshaya Nataraj

School/Year: BC ‘17

Major: Statistics 

 

What are you involved in on campus? I’m a member of Columbia University Bhangra, a competitive South Asian dance team. I joined my first year and it has definitely been one of the more defining aspects of my college experience thus far – it’s a very cathartic outlet to tap into whenever I’m stressed with school, because I love to dance! I have also been a part of a couple of activities/event-planning boards, like BEB and McAC. BEB helped to organize Acapalooza – a fall concert featuring some of the premiere a cappella groups of Columbia and Fordham University – and Trivia Bowl, a highly anticipated brain-bowl type event that gives away a TON of college-friendly free prizes (it’s so funny to see Barnard/Columbia faculty trying to beat out students for quality blenders and air mattresses). Through McAC’s Networking Committee, I helped to organize a Staff Appreciation Wall and the annual Emily Gregory Teaching Award/Dinner, which is probably the best thing I could have gotten myself involved with last year. The camaraderie amongst teaching faculty and the nature of the mentorship-relationship with students really reminded me of why I came to Barnard in the first place. This year, I’ve branched out a little bit to engage in a long-standing interest of mine – peer tutoring. I’m currently a Speaking-Fellow-In-Training, which has been incredibly eye opening in terms of really defining the correlation between self-expression and communication and also in understanding the real science of persuasion. I’ve also started tutoring in the Math Help Room (disclaimer: I have an interest in math, not an aptitude, really I’m getting more out of my time in Milbank than anyone else). The most recent challenging – yet exciting! – activity I’ve begun to engage with this year has been through my involvement with CU PREP – Prison Reform Education Project. Several us from Barnard and Columbia travel to the Bronx once a week and tutor students at juvenile centers in preparation for the New York Regents Exams. It’s still pretty early so I struggle to articulate why and just how valuable this experience has been (and it truly has been), but I’m thankful for the checks in perspective about what it means to generally have accessibility and agency. 

 

Bhangra came to your mind first. How has that specifically helped you grow? I’ve grown up dancing various South Asian styles, so I came to Columbia pumped to continue this. The styles I’ve been trained in stem primarily from classical roots, are considered to be more beautifully represented by women, and are often performed by individuals rather a group of performers. It has certainly been to my advantage to be part of an active dance form on campus that traditionally stands for the opposite of anything I’ve ever done. The dance team itself consists of an amazing and talented group of people, and navigating what it means to be accountable for each other on stage (in terms of having defined formation patterns to hit or partners or competition responsibilities and assignments) has really developed my team-playing skills and taught me that my team-playing skills are in no way developed, but are at least on the right track. It’s also an incredibly invigorating feeling to be told (and see) that we’re doing this style of traditionally male-dominated dance justice as female dancers. We are fortunate to get a lot of leverage in terms of how our presence on stage is emphasized and distinguished from the guys. Specifically, the history and culture of our team has evolved to treat either gender as equals on the dance floor (in terms of choreographing segments where everyone uses the desired prop or engages in the desired difficult move). It’s also nice to have segments or formations that highlight the female dancers alone, as this emphasizes the equal power and unity we can sustain in conjunction with (rather than in contrast to) “our natural, feminine grace.” I see my experiences as a member of CU Bhangra translating very directly to my non-Bhangra experiences in many ways. I am very quick now to ask for qualification when observations are made that segregate the two genders rather than emphasize how the two can balance each other with individual strengths. On Barnard’s campus, I have been motivated this year to join activities and leadership programs that aid in the development of a strong and female identity, rather than perpetuate existing profiles. It’s been a really wonderful time and I’m excited for it to continue over the next couple of yeas. I’m happy that I’ve been able to grow so much as a person using an outlet that I love. 

 

 

What are your more professional and academic interests? I had my summer college epiphany a couple of months ago and completely rethought the trajectory of my academic program, so I’m definitely still trying to gauge what it is I want out of my education and professor-peer interactions over the next three years. I’m sure most of the student population here feels very similarly or revisits similar thoughts from time to time – it can be really exciting at one moment but overwhelming the next. I’m down for halal-bonding life-talks with anyone whenever; they’re my guilty pleasure at the moment. Ideally I’d love to try my hand at “data analysis,” but from the approach of modeling qualitative factors with quantitative tools, rather than in hard-math or science fields. My course load is more quant-heavy this semester, which is definitely helping to expand my knowledge base at a faster rate. Tutoring in the Math Help Room has also helped me realize the real-world applications and connections of math, and reinforcing these ideas and working through problems more consistently every week has me thinking about career prospects very seriously. 

 

Favorite class you’ve taken and a class you’d like to take: I’m currently taking an Applied Linear Regression Analysis class, and from a very introspective angle it’s everything I would have hoped for out of a class here. The material is challenging but so engaging and I can definitely see myself having applied use for this skill in the future. I’m really psyched to take a class my cousin recommended to me from a couple of years ago called Culture through Film and Media in the Anthropology Department. I’m a huge movie junkie, and my time at Barnard so far has really piqued my interest in people analytics and interaction – so I’m oddly trying to combine the two! Someone please take it with me!