I started learning Bharatanatyam at 3, completed my arangetram in 2013 at 14, and continued performing until 2020. Dance has been my greatest discipline and joy- and this channel is my way of preserving and sharing those years on stage.

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I started learning Bharatanatyam from the tender age of three from Guru Santhosh Kumar and Smt. Saritha Santhosh Kumar. I’ve had the privilege of participating in all Bharatanatyam performances in-house programmes of the academy, several temple programmes at Guruvayoor and Chennai Iyyapan Temple. I completed my challanga pooja (think of it like a pre-graduation-graduation)

Ever since I was little, my mom has pushed me (actually, literally dragged me out of bed) for many years to learn dance. Although I love performing, I simply never liked going to classes because it was during the weekends, and back then I felt like I was missing out on my precious sleeping hours :)

Dance class required a tremendous amount of discipline, being on time, wearing the right uniform or dance saree (once I became a senior), good nutrition, and more.

It is SUCH an irony, because back then I’d blame being distracted by multiple things for not scoring well in school exams. When I look back, there has LITERALLY never been a time where I haven’t done more than one thing.

I was a generalist, sorry, won’t work with me.

My schedule was:

5:30 AM - Wake up & freshen up

6:00 AM- Home Tutor for math/science

7:00 AM - Get ready for school

3:30 PM - Food after school

6:00 PM - More home tuitions or French Class

8:00 PM- Dinner + study

10:00 PM - DANCE PRACTICE UNTIL 12 AM

(My neighbors would tell you how loud it was ;))

It was not until I completed my arangetram (aah-run-gey-trum) in 2014 that I completely fell in love with dancing. I was in 10th grade, which in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India is the time when every 10th grader is supposed to be thinking about nothing else but their exams, because it supposedly decides your entire life.

During my arangetram in 2014, that morning I was filled with nerves. It was just me, I suddenly wasn’t going to perform with a group of people, after what had been almost 11 years of training- there I was- people showing up, venue booked, make-up artists ready, an entire evening, dedicated to watching me dance for 3.5 hours.

I remember during my first song, I kept telling myself “Do not trip & fall, what’s the next step? what’s the next step? please don’t forget” but also, “oh krishna, what is this bright light right in front of me, I cannot see the audience, I cannot see anything except the digital wall clock far on the wall near the door, what do you mean it’s only been 15 minutes?”

See what I didn’t understand at that age was, this was supposed to be about devotion- instead for me most of the performaces became about “getting it right”- somehow right after the main dance called “Varnam”- I beleive you can see in the end pose, it almost felt like Lord Muruga took over, that laugh, that smile, I do not know how to explain- but something shifted in me. (as shown in the image)

Whenever I look at my old videos, tears roll down my face because a. I criticize myself a lot, but most importantly b. Arangetram taught me how I’ve been gifted with the medium to connect to the supreme anytime I wanted to.

I was awarded the title, “Natana Sri” after my arangetram :)

Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue going to classes after I joined engineering college in 2016; however, after 10 whole years of education + career keeping me & dancing apart, I’ve come back - as terrified as I am that life will once again separate me from it- this modern tech world should be enough to keep me going (that’s the hope)

I wanted to have a separate space for this part of my life. In some ways, I feel like this is one of the major parts of my identity where I get to be really be the experienced one and feel a strong sense of “I know what I am doing” :)

Thanks to mum, of course!

But also thank you to my guru, Santhosh Kumar Master & Saritha Santhosh Miss

Santhosh Kumar Master has known me since I was 3 years old, and I am the dancer that I am purely because of his teaching style, the storytelling & the pure passion for dance itself.