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11-year-old Puducherry girl performs Bharatanatyam underwater to raise awareness for plastic pollution

Thaaragai Aarathana, a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and certified diver, performed the classical dance beneath the sea, dressed in full traditional costume with jewellery and makeup intact.

2 min readNew DelhiDec 27, 2025 06:15 PM IST

Puducherry girl performs Bharatanatyam underwater

In the video, Bhardwaj explains what inspired her mission

An 11-year-old girl from Puducherry is capturing hearts online after choosing an extraordinary way to highlight the dangers of plastic pollution. Rather than using a stage or a microphone, she carried her message underwater, quite literally, diving nearly 20 feet below the surface to raise awareness about plastic pollution threatening marine life.

Thaaragai Aarathana, a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and certified diver, performed the classical dance beneath the sea, dressed in full traditional costume with jewellery and makeup intact. The striking performance blended art, activism, and bravery in a way rarely seen before.

A video of the underwater dance, shared on Instagram by Shubham Bhardwaj, has since gone viral. The post was captioned, “Thaaragai Aarathana, The Girl Who Turned Dance Into an Ocean-Saving Mission”. The visuals show the young dancer moving gracefully amid ocean currents, turning the sea itself into her backdrop.

Without words or music, Aarathana depended entirely on expression and movement. Every gesture was intentional, aimed at highlighting the damage plastic waste causes to marine ecosystems.

Watch the video:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shubham Bhardwaj (@bhardwaj_shubham.in)

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In the video, Bhardwaj explains what inspired her mission. During one of her dives, Aarathana witnessed turtles caught in fishing nets, a moment that deeply affected her. That experience, the video says, pushed her to take action to protect the ocean. Since then, she has personally helped remove around 3,000 kilograms of plastic waste from the sea. Her father, who has been involved in similar efforts for nearly 18 years, has removed over 37,000 kilograms of marine waste.

Social media users were quick to react, flooding the comments with admiration and encouragement. One user wrote, “Salute to her mother and father who have such a big heart great courage beta.” Another commented, “We all must respect her talent and message.”

Others offered blessings and praise, with one saying, “Narayan bless you in multiple ways in your life.” While another added, “India needs more Indians like them.”