Did You Know, Hip-Hop Sensation Doja Cat Is A Trained Bharatanatyam Dancer And Sang Bhajans At Temples

Brown history across the globe is warmly rich and has so many stories yet hidden. We have dug one of them for you! Doja Cat who we know popularly for singing chartbusters like Kiss Me More, Woman and Boss Bitch has her roots in Indian cultures and practices.

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In an interview with Billboard in 2021, Doja reflected back on the journey that she lived so far in her life.

Growing up with her mother and grandmother being painters, Doja was highly inspired by the striking visual style. ¡°A lot of that inspired me to take up fashion and visual, experimental things,¡± she shared saying that her mom was a full-on ¡°hippie from the '60s¡± who was always a step ahead in supporting Doja.

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Doja started taking dance lessons at the age of five and interestingly it was with the Indian classical dance style Bharatanatyam. She expressed, ¡°I feel like it taught me to be emotive and control my body in a special way.¡± Doja's family then moved to an ashram in California from New York and served their Swamini late jazz great Alice Coltrane.

For five years since then, Doja practised Hinduism and sang Bhajans at different temples across California.

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The diva whose birth name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini then moved back to New York to learn break dance and kickstart her career into what she is doing today. In another interview, Cat revealed, "Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam; its very emotional and its a lot about angles like creating shapes with your body.¡±

Do you know Bharatanatyam was banned by Britishers in the early 1900s?

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This popular classical dance originating from Tamil Nadu was considered a sacred dance form and a part of religious worship before the Britishers arrived in India. Performed by devadasi, who sang and danced as a form of prayer and temple service, this form was originally called "Sadir Natyam."

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It was after their arrival that they banned it saying it was immoral associating the dancers with prostitution. After starting to vanish, it was mid the 20th century that the form saw a resurgence and was promoted yet again. With its name Bharatanatyam, the dance form saw a journey from temples to stages and from India to the rest of the world.

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