WARANGAL: A few years ago, Himansee Katragadda, a 23-year-old resident of Warangal and a learned Kuchipudi dancer, visited the famous 12th-century stone temples, known as Kota Gullu, in Ghanpur of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. Speaking to TNIE, she says, “As a dancer, I am spiritually connected to our Indian culture, traditions and heritage. During my visit, I thought of something: Why is the Ramappa temple in the limelight while the Kota Gullu remains in obscurity, despite both having similar sculptural and architectural beauty glorifying the richness of the Kakatiya dynasty?”
This thought led to the establishment of Temple Dance Studio in 2020. Under the initiative, Himansee says, “We take promising and young classical dancers and shoot videos with the untold and dilapidated temples in the backdrop to depict the condition through the lyrics and actions.” Since 2020, Himansee and team have performed and shot videos in over a dozen temples across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and even Tamil Nadu. “Reviving these untold temples to promote our Indian arts is the one-line motto of our Temple Dance Studio,” she adds.
Dancing to glory
Since starting to learn Kuchipudi at the tender age of six, Himansee hasn’t had to look back. Even before turning an adult, she was recognised for her poise and talent, winning laurels across the country. Despite an ACL tear in 2019, the 23-year-old has managed to regain her form in a short time. She has already had President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy in her audience and shared the stage/dais with modern classical dance greats.