Sheela Unnikrishnan, founder of Sree Devi Nrithyalaya, feels a sense of achievement in taking Bharatanatyam to the younger generation.
Sheela Unnikrishnan began wielding the cymbals 23 years ago, at the age of 18. Today she impresses connoisseurs with her skilful nattuvangum in her crowd-pulling shows.
She came under the tutelage of the late Railway Sundaram, when she was just nine.(The guru was a student of the late Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer hailing from Mangudi village of Thanjavur.) She was rigorously trained in the Melattur style of dance. “Bharatanatyam that evolved from Melattur is unique in many ways. It is rich in music and gives equal importance to nritta and nritya,” says Sheela.
Originally written for The Hindu, read more at https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/Teaching-is-her-forte/article15605541.ece