Says Santosh G Nair, the 22-year-old national award winner in Bharatanatyam, on what inspired her. At what age did you start practicing Bharatanatyam? I started at the age of four under my mother’s guidance, who has been trained at kalamandalamamd. When I turned five, I joined the gurukulam of Sri Rama Nataka Niketan under the training of gurus Sri V S Rama Moorthy and Smt Manjula Ramaswamy. What inspired you learn dance? I probably was blessed with my mom’s dancing genes. She was the inspiration. When did you first perform on stage? It was at the age of six. You are a college student. How do you mange study with dance? In my opinion, you cannot achieve anything unless you struggle. Dancing is my passion and studying is a more practical gateway for survival. Both are essential, and I am trying to strike a balance. What has been your greatest achievement in dance? My first achievement, I would say, is being blessed with such wonderful gurus. Then comes the national award Balashree Award which I won in the year 2004 from then president Dr APJ Kalam. Although I have achieved more than a dozen awards, receiving the honour from the President in Rashtrapati Bhavan was a thrilling experience. When did you receive your first award? How did life change after that? My first award came when I was eight. It was then my dream found their wings. It was the beginning of a new life. Who is your idol and why? Sudha Chandran. Despite losing a leg, she continues to show immense zeal for living life to its fullest. Who is your favorite dancer? Why? Priyadarshini Govind, a Bharatanatyam dancer. Would you like to make dancing your profession? More than making dance a career to make money, I would want to do it for the love of it. I want to continue to be a passionate Bharatanatyam performer. Commercialisation of art is not something I would ever do. (As told to Pratima Shantaveeresh), Source: The Hans India, Image: flickr.com
