Books about dance are close to my heart, especially books that challenge the status quo in some way. I remember reading Kali Wants to Dance and particularly enjoying it because I’m a dancer who often plays male roles because of the dearth of male Bharatanatyam dancers, at least here in Pune.
The Chhau Champ deals with the opposite idea. A girl wants to practise a dance form usually restricted to men. I’ve watched chhau just once, and yes, it was performed by a male dancer. This is not unique to chhau; I remember reading about how men do Kathakali, while women do Mohini Attam. Yes, people have challenged this–Dr Kanak Rele, for instance, was one of the first female Kathakali dancers in India. But the idea remains that some dance forms are to be performed by women, while others are to be performed by men.
Enter Shubha, daughter of a chhau guru. Unlike her brother, she wants to be a chhau dancer. But she isn’t allowed anywhere near dance and is forced to learn on the sly, hoping to escape her father’s notice, even as she hopes to be noticed by him.
And that brings me to what I enjoyed most about the story–the complexity of the characters even in such a simple chapter book. Shubha and her family are all fully developed characters with their own motivations and goals. If I am completely honest, I must admit that it took me a while to understand Shubha’s mother’s vow of silence. I wondered whether children would understand what was happening, but as the story went on, I loved it. Without revealing the end, I must say I loved her character arc!
Vibha Batra’s storytelling is lovely. Each book of hers that I’ve read deals with a social issue of some kind and challenges it in the gentlest possible way, without ever being preachy or moralistic. The Chhau Champ is no different!
| Title | The Chhau Champ |
| Author | Vibha Batra |
| Tags | Chapter Book, hOle book, Gender |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4 |
| Age-group | 7+ |
Other books by Vibha Batra that I’ve read and enjoyed:
- Gobi Goes Viral (chapter book – a book club read, also one of my favourite chapter books from 2023)
- Kolam Kanna (MG book – a book club read, also one of my favourite middle-grade reads from 2023)
- Pinkoo Shergill: Pastry Chef (MG book – a book club read, also one of my favourite middle-grade reads from 2021)
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