About My Gurus

My first Guru was the legendary dancer late Natya Kalanidhi Smt. Swarna Saraswathy. Smt Swarna Sarawathy was an artiste of whom a nation must be proud of. She was born in Chennai into a family of illustrious dancers and musicians hailing from Tanjavore. She was the recipient of many awards and titles.

She was trained in Bharatanatyam by the late Mylapore Gowri Ammal, Tiruvenkatanattuvanar and Visry Chinnaih Naidu. She was trained in Carnatic vocal music by the great Tiger Varadachari and Namkal Shesha Iyengar.

She was awarded the title of “Natya Kala Visharada” by Jagannatha Bhakta Sabha, “Nataya Rani” by Indian Fine Arts Society. “Abhinaya Saraswathy” by Saraswathy Gana Sabha, “Natya Kalanidhi” by Trichy Sangeetha Sabha, Muttamizh Kalai Arasi by Dr. Arumuganar, Delhi & was also the recipient of the prestigious “Sangeeta Nataka Academy Award”.

She established the Bharatanatya Academy in Chennai in the year 1954 and then shifted to Delhi in 1962 where she trained several batches of Indian and foreign students.

My 2nd Guru Smt Kalanidhi Narayan needs no introduction in the field of Bharatanatyam. She is the doyen of Abhinaya. She was trained in Bharatanatyam by Nattuvanar Kanappa Mudaliar of Coonjeevaram. She also studied Abhinaya from Mylapore Gowri Ammal and later took intensive training from Shri Chinnaiyya Naidu. She gave several performances for charitable causes between 1938 and 1943. It was after three decades that she came back into the Bharatanatyam scene at the instance of Y.G Doraiswamy. She started teaching at her own institution Abhinaya Sudha and imparted lessons in abhinaya to several youngsters. She specialized in traditional abhinaya performed to leisurely singing of Padams and Javalis. She is the recipient of many awards like Nritya Choodamani from Krishnagana Sabha, Kalaimani from Tamil Nadu Government, the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy award and the Padma Bhushan. She is also the author of the book Aspects of Abhinaya. She lives in Chennai.