A journey through Bharatanatyam
Practice, performance, teaching, and the living transmission of tradition.
My Journey
Ārambham (Beginnings)
Mumbai, India
I began my Bharatanatyam training in Mumbai with my first teacher, Rohini M. Singhi. Alongside dance, I pursued academic study, completing a Political Science and Philosophy major at Jai Hind College, Mumbai, followed by a Performing Arts degree from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya.
From early on, I was drawn to understanding not just movement, but the many layers—historical, cultural, and embodied—that inhabit Bharatanatyam.
Sādhana (Practice)
Mumbai and Touring Productions
I continue to train under Vaibhav Arekar, whose guidance has deeply shaped my artistic practice. I was part of several dance productions and tours with Sankhya Dance Company, performing extensively and learning through lived, rigorous performance experiences.
During this phase, my relationship with Bharatanatyam deepened as I engaged with questions of lineage, tradition, appropriation, and inheritance, particularly within a form historically practised by courtesans and hereditary communities.
Prayōga (Performance & Application)
United States
Alongside my solo and collaborative work, I became a Principal Dancer, Creative Coach, and Rehearsal Director with Nava Dance Theatre, founded by Nadhi Thekkek. This work allows me to move fluidly between performing, mentoring, and shaping creative processes, while continuing to expand my artistic voice.
Rasa–Sambhāṣaṇa (Curation & Dialogue)
I co-curate two festivals that reflect my commitment to conversation, intergenerational exchange, and artistic rigor.
Varnam Salon, supported by the California Arts Council Local Impact Grant, brings together senior practitioners, mid-career artists, and emerging dancers based in California.
I also co-curate When Eyes Speak, where performance and dialogue exist in equal measure.
Paramparā (Teaching & Transmission)
2018 – Present | California
In 2018, I founded Kshetram, an intergenerational Bharatanatyam institution based in Livermore and Pleasanton, California. Kshetram emerged as a response to my evolving understanding of dance, culture, appropriation, tradition, and embodiment.
Through Kshetram, I seek to hold paramparā as a living practice—one that honors its roots while allowing space for transformation and growth across generations.
I follow a seven-year curriculum, through which students learn a complete Margam repertoire, alongside Slokas from the Abhinaya Darpana, rhythmic frameworks such as Talam, and choreographic methods.
Anubhava (Shared Experience)
I initiated the Art Echoes Series to inspire young audiences through live performance. The series creates space for children to witness practice up close, engage in candid conversations with artists, and experience the arts as an embodied, shared journey.
Antaḥkaraṇa (Beyond the Stage)
When I’m not dancing, I love to read, watch TV, daydream, and stare into space while drinking chai. I enjoy singing when no one is listening and doodling endlessly.
A Malayalee-Mumbaikar at heart, I hold a deep affection for chaaya (chai), vada-pav, monsoons, and—in my own words—Mumbai’s “romantic bustle.”