Suburban resident to combine Tamil & dance for her thesis

Chennai: Jayalakshmi Murugan, a resident of Sri Sarvamangala Nagar 8th Cross Street, at Tambarm in the city suburb shares an inseparable bond with classical dance.

Her passion even motivated her to learn Bharatanatyam and start her own dance school. Now, she wants to do research on the link between Tamil literature and the classical art form of Bharatanatyam for her doctorate.

Speaking to ‘News Today’, Jayalakshmi, who is also assistant professor in the Tamil Department of SIVET College, says she wants to begin the work soon. But, earning a Ph D is not something that she would find difficult as she has already done it before.

She said,”Earlier, I earned a doctorate on feminism under the guidance of Professor G Sekar of Presidency College in 2001. Before this, I did M Phil thesis on the topic ‘Karaikkal Ammayar Padhiga Vazhi: Nadana Kurippugalum, Inraya Nadana Nigalthu Muraigalum’, under Professor Kamali from Mother Theresa Women’s University in 2000.”

Jayalakshmi says she also takes pride in the dissertation on Bharatanatyam Banigal (styles of Bharatanatyam) she submitted for her post-graduation at MCC.

“I interacted with eminent dancers like Anita Ratnam, Sudharani Raghupati and the former principal of Kalakshetra, Krishnaveni Lakshmanan. I was the first one to submit the dissertation in my department,” she said.

Talking about her Bharatanatyam experience, Jayalakshmi said,”I had my arangetram in 1992. Till date, I have done 50 stage performances. My most memorable performance was at a national-level cultural festival in 1998. I performed Kurathi, a dance based on a theme from Tamil literature.”

Talking about her dance school, Jayalakshmi said,”I began teaching Bharatanatyam in 1993 and around 150 students have completed salangai poojai till now. I now have 70 students in my Sri Bharathi Kalalayam dance school.”

Jayalakshmi credits her guru N Niraimati Kumar for her success in the dance field. She also thanks her mother Rani Muniraj who inspired her to master the classical art form. Jayalakshmi can be reached at 94446 59159.