Mesmerized by the vibrance of classical dance, young Zaheer yearns to be a Bharatanatyam dancer. Yet, in his small but multi-cultural village community, he finds encouragement only in his aunt, Anandhi, and faces ridicule from his immediate family and extended social circle. In the course of his struggle, as he transitions from being a member of a conservative Muslim family that is outraged by his unusual interest, into becoming a part of the charming world of a classical dance form that imposes its own religious typecasting, he encounters different facets of faith. The novel explores the legitimacy of the space that Zaheer wishes to carve out for himself beyond stereotypes of black and white, amidst gaping social disparities, and in between Hinduism and Islam. Interwoven with his narrative is one of Andal, the Vaishnavite savant poetess who rebels against the orthodoxy of her faith and creates her own idiom of devotion. The Dance of Faith is a vibrant and brilliantly crafted tapestry of art, dance, cinema and religion of the Tamil region in which the sordid and spectacular shine through equally.
