Till a year back, Shumita Mahajan was many things—a Bharatanatyam exponent, a media and marketing professional, a mentor to 160 students at her dance academy, and more. Shumita finally realised that she needed to focus on the artistic and professional growth of her disciples. She quit her corporate job to give her undivided attention to her dance academy, Sadhana Nrityalaya. It all bore fruit this year, when six of her senior disciples won the Yuva Puraskar on the same stage where she received the Sri Jayadev Rastriya Sanman from the Odisha Government’s Ministry of Culture. Her day starts at 5.30 am with dance sessions with her senior students, who in turn manage and teach at the three Sadhana Nrityalaya branches in Pune and the fourth in Phoenix, US.
Shumita entered the fold of Bharatanatyam when she was four years old. Later she learnt at the Aradhana Gurukul under the tutelage of Prerna Desai and Dr Anjani Arunkumar. Her gurus still form the inspirational force behind her journey. She says happily, “Dance chose me. People nowadays take up performing arts as a career. It wasn’t so 20 years ago.”
Her 28-year-old dance institute garnered nationwide attention when her student, Prerana Sahane, was chosen as recipient of the ‘Role Model’ National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disability. Prerana had suffered a severe paralytic attack at six months of age, following which she lost her hearing and speech. The girl fought through her impediments, embraced the classical dance form, and overcame her challenges.
Founded in 1991 with only three students, the institute has grown organically. So far 31 students have performed their Arangetram—the debut on commercial stage or the graduation ceremony where the dancer proves her skill to perform solo. “The numbers are not so great, but that had not been the focus either,” Shumita declares. The focus was always towards attaining purity through the effort. “Arangetram is a test of a dancer’s training, her skill in presenting an act solo, all the while interacting with the audience and keeping them enthralled. It’s like a wedding, and weddings happen in small scales, in warm and intimate ceremonies too,” Shumita emphasises.
Born into a Bengali family, tuning into the world of Rabindra Sangeet and ballets were only natural for Shumita. Little wonder that she channelises the same into her work and comes up with innovative choreography. Apart from Tagore’s Shyama, Chitrangada, Shapmochan, Bhanushingher Padavali, Shumita is working on women-centric renditions exploring desire. She also works closely with brands to establish their unique personalities through varied dance forms.
“I believe that artists who want to take arts seriously as their career should also look at it as a business. They have to find that golden median, which is very tough. I’m glad for the recognition my students are getting. It makes me happy that my students are invited for performances based on their talent,” Shumita says.