Bharatanatyam guru Manjula Ramaswamy receives Sangeet Natak Akademi award from President Droupadi Murmu on March 6, 2024
Veteran Bharatanatyam guru Manjula Ramaswamy, has been conferred with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for 2022-23 for her contribution to Bharatanatyam. The 66-year-old dancer and the director of Hyderabad-based dance institute Sri Rama Nataka Niketan was honoured by President Droupadi Murmu on March 6, 2024, at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
“I get satisfaction from seeing my college students succeed and excel, a outstanding reward. Nevertheless, receiving recognition from the president is an extra inspiration for me to proceed to coach and information my college students,” says Manjula after her return to Hyderabad.
Her determination to don a nine-yard Kanjeevaram sari within the conventional Tanjore Iyer type and the standard act of stepping onto the stage barefoot resonated with the viewers, evoking admiration. “It’s not simply concerning the efficiency,” Manjula explains. “Any stage is sacred for me, and that’s why I selected to be barefoot.”
Taking over the position of a guru on the tender age of 10 wasn’t one thing Manjula had anticipated, however future had its plans. Studying and aiding her father, the late VS Ramamoorthy, who had skilled scores of disciples, Manjula turned a reputation to reckon with in revolutionary choreographies. Her college students have gained competitions and took part in TV actuality reveals, showcasing the pure Bharatanatyam kind.
File photograph of Manjula Ramaswamy together with her father and Guru V S Ramamoorthy
| Photograph Credit score:
GIRI KVS
After her father’s demise on the age of 100, Manjula says getting into his position was difficult and rewarding. “But I embraced it wholeheartedly, pushed by the will to hold ahead his legacy. Every batch introduced new challenges, however it was each a duty and a privilege to nurture younger skills, guiding them via the intricacies of our craft. Because the years glided by, I witnessed the fruits of our laboür as our college students introduced honour to the institute and all related to it – the gurus, their households, and our state.”
