'A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.' Mrudula's journey began at the tender age of two and a half, when she was initiated to the divine art form of Bharatanatyam by her grandmother and parents, under the able guidance of Smt. Sujatha Ramalingam (nee Parashuraman), student of Sri K. Adayar Laxman, Kalakshetra. Her first major milestone was her Arangetram, in Chennai, in May 1987 at the age of five and half. Subsequently, she learnt from Smt. Sugandhi Subramaniam of Natanapriya in Mumbai.
A few miles into her journey, she came across a major junction - Aunty, Guru Rajee, from whom she had the good fortune of learning the different aspects of Bharatanatyam, Nattuvangam, Natya Sastra and folk dances of India. Various solo and group performances have come her way since then.
- Chaitanya Bharati cultural programme at Nehru Centre
- Solo performance in Chennai in 1997 at Mylapore Music Academy
- Dance ballet in 1998 at Chembur Fine Arts
- Group ensemble of Bharatanatyam in 1999 at Vani Mahal, Chennai
- Sri Jagat Rakshakan at Mylapore Music Academy , Chennai in 1999
- Natya Natakam - Thirumurugan and Mahakavi Bharati at Shanmukhananda Hall in 2000
- Solo in November 2002 at Mysore Association, Matunga, Mumbai
- Navaratna Nadanam - a group performance in October 2003 at Ahobila Mutt, Chembur
- Solo performance in October 2004 at Mysore Association, Matunga, Mumbai
- Rajee Narayan's Amrutotsav in August 2006, at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi, Mumbai
- Rural Rhythms - refined folk dance of Tamil Nadu in September 2006, SIES Complex, Nerul, Mumbai
On a parallel track, Mrudula has learnt Carnatic music from Guru Smt. Padma Ganapathy, Thane. She gave her maiden concert in 1999 in Thane. She has also sung devotional songs in Bangalore, Chennai, Vishakapatnam and Mumbai alongwith Guru Padma and her friend, Smt. Divya Narayanan.
Mrudula holds a Masters degree in Commerce, diplomas in Business Management, Software Engineering. With constant support and encouragement from her parents and guidance from both Gurus dance and music, she started a branch of Nritya Geethanjali at Thane, in 2001.
After marriage, Mrudula moved to Sunnyvale, California, Bay Area. Wanting to continue the journey that she had started many years ago, she was on the lookout for a medium which would introduce her to more people who share her passion and love for dance. As a part of Sanhiti, a South Indian dance troupe, she performed group folk dances on two occasions, thanks to Guru Rajee's training in folk dances. She also had the opportunity to perform solo Bharatanatyam during the Navaratri celebrations of October 2005 in Sunnyvale and was fortunate to be given a chance to render devotional songs on two other occasions. She hopes to soon start a branch of Nritya Geethanjali in California and impart all that she has received from Aunty, lessons in dance and lessons on Life.
The journey continues...
Mrudula Naveen
