“It’s hard to think of anything less obviously appealing to your average primary school pupil than the exhausting and obscure art of bharatanatyam. Routines include separate movements for the eyes, eyebrows, neck, shoulders, wrists, arms, torso, thighs, knees and feet, to narrate the action and convey emotions.” With some similarities to ballet, it “is an ancient and integral part of southern India’s Carnatic classical music tradition.”