A twinkle in their toes

A software engineer and an English professor are quietly dancing up a storm in the city and how! Passionately working towards the preservation and promotion of Indian classical dance across the world, Manasi and Raghunandan have been at it, non-commerically, for years now. Having toured South Africa, Mauritius, Malaysia, Spain, France and Pakistan to build cultural relations through dance, their students from Bengaluru are now reeling from their experience at Sri Lanka – a seven-day project with a host of performances, workshops and lecture demonstrations from which they emerged autograph-signing superstars!

Visiting Wattala, Nurvalaeliya, Kandy, Morutava, Ratnapura and Colombo, “They not just learnt a little Sinhalese, but taught kids there some Kannada and Hindi, the significance behind the kumkum and what the gesture of Namaste meant amongst other things.

They were thrilled when Sri Lankan school boys and girls asked them to sign autographs and teach them a few hand gestures as well,” smiles their visibly thrilled teacher, Manasi Raghunandan.

“When you meet people, you tend to exchange your creative and artistic ideas – from one heart to another. You not only understand their culture and language better, but their country too. We believe dance has no boundaries and as a means of creative expression, helps to bond,” says the 30-year-old who had over 439 shows to her credit when she only 14. Her husband Raghunandan on the other hand, was a hobbyist for 14 years before they created their first baby, Abhivyakti, a dance centre. Coming from a family that lives and breathes dance, this was a natural progression for them. While Manasi remembers the pulsating energy that her parents’ UNESCO recognised dance school brought with it, it was a celebration at Raghunandan’s house when his grandfather, initiated him into the classical form.

The culturally-inclined duo vividly remembers their first performance together. “Our first presentation would be a collage of Odissi and Bharatanatyam, which we produced from Baroda to Bengaluru using technology,” recalls 32-year-old Raghunandan about Kala Sangam. “After our premiere show in Bengaluru, we performed at the Purva Festival in Vadodara, Rukmini Devi Arundale Festival in Kolkata, Indradhanush Festival in Delhi and the Bharatotsava at Hubli, eventually realising that we not just wanted to be partners in dance, but life,” smiles the telecommunications engineer who has an MFA in Bharatanatyam! Although they are uniquely uncompromised, they are like two peas in a pod. They not only celebrate every Indian festival at their dance school complete with dance, but they also organise heritage tours, dance festivals, free training programmes for foreigners, publish newsletters and conduct workshops in everything from Gotipua, Chhau, Odissi and folk to Garba, Dandiya and Indian languages – all to uphold the culture of richly diverse nation like India.

Aside of being proud teachers and looking forward to perform at the Kajuraho and the Karur Dance Festival later this year, the duo makes it a point to unwind. “We often take short trips around Bengaluru, watch the circus, listen to music or attend dance concerts together. We also love reading and discussing about everything around the world,” says Raghunandan, But nothing can beat their favourite pastime together – spending time with their nine-month-old baby, Hrishikesh.