Miranda’s Writing

Hi! I’m Miranda. I am a co-founder, dancer, and program coordinator at Shakti Caravan and I believe fiercely in things like education reform, magical thinking, and using the arts to effect social change. I write about these things here.

It is important to note that these posts are personal reflections and do not represent Shakti Caravan as a whole. However; these essays and stories often come from conversations and experiences that have taken place during Shakti Caravan.

When I first came to India in 2012, I started a blog called “Musings from India” as a way to make sense of my experiences in this incredible place. Since then, I’ve simplified the title, as “Musings from India” implies that I must be IN India in order to, well, muse. Shakti Caravan, as an entity, is not confined to one specific place or medium, so why should I be? This blog has evolved over the years but, whoever you are, sweet reader, I hope you find some snippet in these pages that sparks something for you.

Part III: My reason for existing

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It’s hard to find the right adjective for the feeling you get when the entire purpose of your life just kinda arrives in an instant, carrying smiling children and warm sunlight with it.

Yesterday, in the flurry of Madhu motion, We visited her school, Mahila Mandal’s Indigenous Girl’s School, where I will begin teaching tomorrow.

As the girls began to flock around me in the old, stone schoolyard, my entire life clicked into place and I woke up from the daze I had been in for nearly a week. I have never felt more validated in my life. Everything that I have done came together in that one moment, with these girls around me, pointing, waving, beaming and giggling. All of their eyes were bright and their bodies lifted high, bouncing with excitement. I stood there, overwhelmed, smiling just as wide as they were, with the same elation lifting me. What hit me, right then, was the understanding that I am fulfilling the dream I’ve had since I first started teaching for the Vanaver Caravan. When I first started learning about education at the New School. When I first wrote my Big Dream to do lists.

Here I am 7,000 miles around the world, about to start teaching dance to children who do not have the privilege or opportunity that I was blessed to have as a child. The guilt I have felt has detached itself from the pit of my stomach. I’m giving the wealth that I have in the best way I know how to give it. And that feels pretty good.