At the workshop she taught 6 young dancers 'Yaaro ivar yaaro'. She clearly explained as to how the speaker is Rama and not Sita as is usually portrayed.

In fact the title for this song in Ramanatakam mentions Rama falling in love with Sita!! This was indeed an eye opening experience for the students who had never come across anything of this nature earlier. At the end of the three days, mami also commented with enthusiasm, "Whoever told abhinaya cannot be taught. See how these children are performing now."

The students on the other hand felt sad when they realised that they could not have more sittings with her.

The workshop was mind boggling as mami moved through various emotions, different nayikas, importance of music in dance (how the choice of raga can determine the mood of the item), importance of every word in the song as only then one can be in tune with the subtle intentions of the composer and so on. The pieces she performed, cemented the points she made.

It was very interesting to note as to how even young kids aged 5 onwards not just sat with rapt attention but also followed the points she had to make, her demonstrations and to actually mention their favourites!! It was amazing to see how she could reach the young and old alike. For few, it was a unique experience, for few others it was a wonderful flashback of the Madras air - peaceful, the music, the artiste and art itself.

Contact: email: ganeshr@emirates.net.ae