In an exclusive column, Sasirekha shares with KutcheriBuzz readers, her teaching experience with the dance students at Geneva and the beautiful sights and sounds of the land of Alps...

Situated between the Alps and the Jura Mountains at the south-western tip of Switzerland, Geneva is a paradise on earth...Seeing the snow capped Alps all around I was reminded of Bharathiyar's silver lines 'Velli Pani Malaiyin Meethulaavuvom'...

The four seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter are distinct in Geneva in contrast to the summer, summer and only summer in Chennai! I was fortunate to be there during April, when it was the sweet spring at Geneva.

Ebriating scenes, mesmerising landscape and parks, the fragrance of beautiful flowers, the tasty chocolates and enchanting stretches of water, tall trees and greenery all over... this is Geneva. Fascinating Jet d'Eau - the water-fountain in the lake Lehman is a 140 meters high water monument. It looks like a white column, constantly moving, rising rapidly into the sky and then falling down again in millions of drops like a curtain with thousands of constantly renewed folds.

The snow melting down from the Alps forms the 90 km long Lehman lake which divides to flow as two rivers around Geneva. In the banks of the Lehman lake at Vever is the statue of the famous actor Charlie Chaplin smiling and posing for photographs continuously with hundreds of his tourist fans. Charlie Chaplin is believed to have spent his last days in Vever.

Vocalist Sharanya, dancers Anusuya, Manjula Lusti Narasimhan and N.Sasirekha

In the banks of the Lehman lake at Geneva is one of Geneva's most photographed sites, the flower clock. The floral harmonies change with the seasons and to decorate this monument (of approximately 5 m. in diameter) over 6,500 plants are required.

Lehman lake holds a parking space for 2500 cars underneath in five floors and not a drop of water oozes into the parking area.

Switzerland as anybody knows is famous for cheese, chocolates, ice creams and watches. Each cow yields on an average 25 litres of milk after consuming 100 kilos of grass every day. No wonder Switzerland excels in the production of milk products. Many Europeans visit the town, Gruyere to watch the preparation of the world famous Swiss cheese called Gruyere at a factory there.

And the city of Geneva houses international organizations, including many agencies of the U.N.

The Swiss people are very sweet, organised and efficient. What struck me most was the staunch love and respect they have for their mother tongue. Everybody speaks French. The medium of instruction in the Swiss schools is French. English is an optional subject. Name boards of places, shops, traffic signs and other information are all in French.

A sizable number of Tamils live in Geneva. The Arputha Vinayakar Temple established by the Sri Lankan Tamils serves as the base for Tamil culture here. Shops and restaurants owned by the Sri Lankans here prove to be a boon to the Indians living here.

Many well known Indian musicians, dancers and dramatists have performed in Geneva. Silambam, an alliance of Shree Bharatalaya, Chennai is an institution that has been training students in Bharatanatyam the last 12 years here and is being run by Manjula Lusti Narasimhan. The students here are also taught Sanskrit shlokas and exercises apart from dance. Above all, they are taught about our culture, mythology and discipline which helps them develop their personalities...

It was a great experience for me to work with Silambam, Geneva. Teaching the students representing European and Asian nationalities was unique. I was moved by the keen interest and involvement displayed by these girls in learning an art that is not familiar to them.

Their sincerity and dedication towards the art is something wonderful. I was happy when they asked me to explain the stories behind mythological episodes taught to them. They were trying to understand our culture, religion and tradition, in turn making us realise its greatness.

This April, Silambam presented Anusya Vasanthan in her arangetram at the UN-ILO auditorium. Manjula along with her students presented 'Hari Hara Smaranam', a Bharatanatyam performance on the theme of Vishnu and Shiva, in aid of the Arputha Vinayakar temple. The students of Silambam who participated in the programme were Melissa Beauclercq, Adele Etter-Currat, Magali Van Leckwyck, Anusya Vasanthan, Jamila Dorner, Farana Haque and Isabelle Reber.

The orchestra for the performance was invited from Chennai, of which I was a part. I did the nattuvangam for the performances apart from teaching the students a few dance pieces. At the arangetram, announcements were made in French, English and Tamil. While two of the students made the announcements in French and English, I made the Tamil announcements. I cannot express the feeling that went through my mind when many of them told me that they were thrilled to listen to Tamil after a long time...

Be it telling stories of Krishna, reciting a jathi or just sharing moments with the kids here, it was an experience to cherish...

You can write to N. Sasirekha at e-mail: tamilnool@touchtelindia.net , sasirekha_n@rediffmail.com

If you're an artiste who has conducted workshops or performed at venues outside India, share your experiences with us. We love your tour diary... Mail us at editor@kutcheribuzz.com