I started my dance career at the tender age of 3 yrs. I joined the institute of classical dance in Kolkata, Bharatiya Kala Kendram at the age of 8 yrs to learn the most ancient Indian dance form, Bharatanatyam (Thanjavur Devdasi style of Bharatanatyam) under the guidance of Guru Vaishali Chaudhuri (student of India’s eminent dance teacher, Guru and former head of the Dept. of Dance, Rabindra Bharati University, Late N.Pandarinathan). Guru N.Pandarinathan was himself from a traditional Nattuvanar family of Kumbhakonam, Tamil Nadu. He was the disciple of the legendary dance Guru and exponent of the most ancient Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam, Bharatha Vidwan Kuppiah Pillai, who is regarded today as an institution par excellence for Bharatanatyam. My Guruji, Vaishali madam is a member of the prestigious International Dance Council, UNESCO, an eminent guru, choreographer and performer, Additional United Nation’s Representative in New York, U.S.A. She is the Director of Arts and Culture of Institute of International Social Development, New York, U.S.A.
My learning started under the strict ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’ system (teacher-student disciple succession), which also included the orthodox system of training for teachers of this ancient and invaluable art form of India. After a six-year long tutelage under my Guruji in Bharatanatyam in the Thanjavur Devdasi style, I was all set for a public acknowledgement of my talent and years of meticulous maturing of my potentialities.