Sarveshan Kumar is a live-wire as he leaps across the stage (Music Academy mini hall) to Shanta Dhananjayan’s crisp jathis. Named the Academy’s ‘best dancer’ in the Spirit of Youth competition a week later, he says the award is both an honour and a boost to his artistic journey that started more than 20 years ago in Cape Town, South Africa.
“My family was involved in Cape Town’s art and culture scene, attending events almost every weekend. Once, Balasundari Prathalingam of Kalakshetra saw me dancing in the aisle as a three-year-old, at an arangetram. She then encouraged my parents to enrol me in Bharatanatyam classes,” he recounts. Beginning classes with aunt Savithri Naidoo, a student of Indira Rajan, at her Academy, Sarveshan grew as a dancer. Visits from Sandhya Murali, a senior student of the Dhananjayans, added a dimension to his learning, even as Darshana Rama became his mentor.
“Having these three personalities guiding, helped me understand the aesthetics, performance quality of the art form and its intricacies,” says Sarveshan. The training laid the foundation for his growth as a contemplative artiste. “My gurus stressed the importance of meditative creativity at an early age,” he adds.
As Cape Town’s only male Bharatanatyam dancer, Sarveshan found his way into the studio of Bharata Kalanjali founders, V.P. Dhananjayan and Shanta Dhananjayan; or Master and Akka, as he calls them. “They had come to conduct a workshop in the early 2000 and Master was teaching us the slokam, ‘Mooshika Vahana Modaka Hasta.’ When he articulated the line of ‘Chaamara Karna,’ he showed so vividly the way the elephant flaps its ears that I was spellbound,” he recalls.
Training under maestros
The visual remained etched in Sarveshan’s mind. After he finished his schooling, his parents urged him to move to Chennai where his training at Bharata Kalanjali formally began. “They took me in and soon, I was spending hours at their house — learning, teaching, eating my meals with Master and Akka, and accompanying them to a variety of performances.” Akka’s structured training method balances well with Master urging to explore the self with every movement. “They have always encouraged me to trust my instincts and imagine myself as a blank canvas on stage, ready to experiment.”
Sarveshan calls Bharata Kalanjali the home of collaborative growth, teaching him how to connect with a community of rasikas and have a deeper understanding of the art form. “The institution preserves our cultural identity, even while presenting it in contemporary, relevant ways.”
The philosophy is an extension of Sarveshan’s artistic belief that has now found home at Leela Samson’s Spanda Dance Company. “Spanda bridges the gap between the past and the present. It’s a space where young artistes are able to deconstruct the form and pursue artistic excellence.” Touring the world, Spanda prompts Sarveshan to look ahead, ready for the next phase of his life in the arts. “I want to be part of a cultural scene where there is a seamless exchange among different art forms.”
