The institution was founded in 2001 by Satyavani with hardly five students. It was her Guru’s intense desire to disseminate the invaluable bounty of knowledge that prompted her to build an institution. She was under the tutelage of Dr Thankamani Kutty at Kalamandalam, Kolkata. In her own words: “It has always been my intense desire to light the fire and passion for dance in at least some students. It is like lighting torches, big and small, with one mother torch that I felt as a student and that is how I work towards kindling the passion in my students”. Today the institute is 50-strong and thriving. Bharatanatyam in Chidambaram style is the forte of Satyavani. Whatever the music or song, the purity of the style is not compromised. The repertoire of the day includes traditional items like Puspanjali, Alarippu and Jatiswaram. They also included some experimental numbers like fusion version of Swati Thirunal’s Tillana, Guru Padukastakam by Adi Shankara and Madhura Shakam by Sripada Vallabhacharya. Source: The Hans India, Image: flickr.com
