CHENNAI: She was just seven when she first wore her salangai and stepped into a dance class. Trained in the pure lineage of the Thanjavur Bani of Bharatanatyam under the tutelage of Sudharani Raghupathy, Krithika Subrahmanian has since performed at festivals, stages and so on.“My guru is like a second mother to me. She is a very progressive person — so there was a lot of exposure to things like literature, various other dance forms and so on,” says Krithika. As she is all set to perform for this Marghazhi season, the dancer sits down with us for a quick chat.
After undergoing eight years of strenuous practice, Krithika was 15 when she did her ranga pravesham and then continued to perform along with her guru in productions at various stages and festivals. “Those days, they wouldn’t let you go on stage and perform if you hadn’t learnt dance for about seven to eight years, unlike today,” she highlights.
Although she was actively performing until 21, she took a break to cater to other commitments. “I became an architect, got married, had a family and I thought I needed time to focus on these things; so I stopped performing. But that doesn’t mean I stopped dancing — I was still practicing and also doing other things like yoga, to keep myself fit,” she adds.
After a 14-year hiatus, Krithika started dancing again six years ago. Although she practices and performs only Bharatanatyam, she enjoys watching other dance forms and has also collaborated some of it in her own production as well. “I really enjoy watching Mohiniyattam, Chhau, Odissi, modern dance and dance theatre among others,” she adds. Ask her about an international dance form that she would have wanted to learn and she says, “I would have loved to learn ballet — it is so beautiful! The whole body is used to express emotions.”
Besides being a dancer, Krithika is an architect and entrepreneur, and today heads a group of companies including Transform, Code, Decode and Sreshta Leisure. We couldn’t help but ask: where does she find time to practice? “My practice sessions are either in the early mornings or late at night, but I practice for a minimum of two hours everyday, except for when I am travelling,” she explains. “No other workout regime, except for maybe something like power yoga can be compared to Bharatanatyam.”
It often happens that people in our society tend to misunderstand and think that those who go into arts will not excel in academics. Krithika begs to differ and says that parents should encourage and motivate children to get into arts. “Bharatanatyam, for instance, engages you on many levels. There is no moment when you cannot be aware of your surroundings, coordinating with the rhythm and noticing every muscle and bone in your body. It helps you become a multi-disciplinary individual,” she elucidates.
While performing a dance piece, it is important that the dancer understands the text, sub-text, jati, talam and bhavam to get involved and that Krithika says that makes one a perfectionist. “You tend to give more attention to detailing. I am a very successful architect and builder, and I also own a hotel — all of these are the by-product of my training as a dancer,” she adds.
Krithika Subrahmanian will perform on Dec 17 at Alwarpet from 7 pm onwards. For details, call: 9840145737
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