Tara loved to dance, at home with her brothers, on stage at weddings, or in sparkly costumes to popular hits of the season. She soon took formal lessons in jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and Bharatanatyam, an ancient classical Indian dance full of stories about ancient gods and mythical worlds. But growing up in Texas, in a world far away from her Indian roots, embracing the styles of dual cultures proved challenging. Bharatanatyam, in particular, felt too hard and different. 

So Tara came close to quitting Bharatanatyam. But she didn’t.

Tara kept going day after day and week after week with both Bharatanatyam and Western dances. Gradually, she discovered that Bharatanatyam actually made her better at all styles. Her movements became more fluid, her expressions more powerful, and her confidence on stage grew. Finally, after ten years of training, as she completed her signature three-hour solo debut performance called an Arangetram, she found her strength and her identity, and in the process, a powerful linkage between her two worlds.

Filled with vivid illustrations of graceful poses, bold expressions, and colors of multiple cultures, For I am Me and I am Strong tells the inspiring story of a girl who never gave up and persevered to become what she calls an Indian ballerina and an American Bharatanatyam dancer. She proved to herself and to the world that she was not a quitter. 

That she could do anything. For she was Tara and she was strong.