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On Friday, 11 May 2018, 5:30 pm at
THE CULTURAL HALL, BAHRAIN

We Cordially invite your esteemed presence with family for the
(Indian Classical Dance Debut by the disciples of Guru Smt. Lekha Sasi,
a renowned exponent of the kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam)
Arangetram of
Ms. Aditi Sahu | Ms. Devyani Mohan | Ms. Meghna Naidu Pushpala | Ms. Nidhi Nambiar
Ms. Saduni Michael Navis | Ms. Shobhitha Krishnan | Ms. Sreelakshmi C. Manoj
With Live Music by Professional Indian Artists
th
On Friday, 11 May 2018, 5:30 pm
At The Cultural Hall Bahrain, Next to the Bahrain National Museum.
Kindly join us for dinner after the program.
Chief Guest
Guest of Honour
Dr. A. Saj U. Mendis
(Ambassador of Sri Lanka)
Mr. Ahmed Abdulla Al Abbassi
(Brigadier General - Retd.)
( Director, Classic Envelopes )
ADITI SAHU
D/O Mrs. DiptiRani Sahu & Mr. Ramachandra Sahu
Grade 6th
The Indian School - Bahrain
Aditi Sahu , hailing from the eastern state
of Odisha has been under the rhythms of
dancing from her very young age. But at
the age of 6, her passion for the art of
bharatnatyam has been enhanced under the dedicated
guidance of her Guru , Mrs Lekha Sasi, a master of the art from
Kalakshetra, Chennai. Dance to Aditi is a way of purifying her body
and soul to gain focus. She is the daughter of Mr Ramachandra
Sahu and Mrs Diptirani Sahu. Her elder brother Aditya has just
completed his 12th year and will pursue higher studies in India.
Aditi is a piece of their heart and draws inspiration from her
parents who always motivated her to chase her dreams and give
her best to everything she takes up. She isn’t only an avid dancer
but an excellent student and an all-rounder. On the grand
occasion of her dance debut. Aditi wishes that her dancing feet
continue to take her places with the kind blessings of Lord Jagannatha,
her Guru, her parents and all her loved ones.

DEVYANI MOHAN
D/O Mrs. Sabitha Ram & Mr. Ram Mohan
Grade 5th
The New Indian School - Bahrain
Devyani Mohan – The sound of her anklet
completes our family. Devyani means one
invested with divine power. She began to
learn Bharatanatyam at tender age of 4,
under her Guru Smt. Lekha Sasi,Proficient
dancer from the Kalakshetra. Under her guru she learned the strength,
the endurance, the perseverance, the beautiful sense of rhythm and
she started respecting dance as an art ! Besides Classical dancing she
has also shown great fonder in learning Carnatic music from her Guru
Dr. Priya Krishnamoorthy and Violin from her Guru Smt. Prema.
Devyani is a steady and practical child having an influential personality
and thus living true to her name – like a Goddess. Besides Excelling in
academics she enjoys Cooking, Swimming, Zumba, Cycling & playing
piano. As parents it gives us great pride to mention that she was
student of Kalamandalam Late Shri.Geethanandan in the form of
Ottanthullal & Kuchupudi from Kalamandalam Smt. Sreelakshmi and
Smt.Shobha Geethanandan. Devu is a precious gift from God for us
and all she seeks blessings, protection, encouragement to build her
confidence from almighty, Grandparents and friends and relatives.
One of the greatest thing we have as a parent is prayer.
MEGHNA NAIDU PUSHPALA
D/O Mrs. Aasha & Mr. Janakiram (Johny)
Grade 6th
The Asian School - Bahrain
Our daughter Meghna makes us proud by
her well-mannered, soft spoken and devotional
attitude. She is also a loving and caring sister to
Bhashyam,who is the 8th grade student of
The Asian School. In academics, she is turning out to be a good
student. In sports, she is showing her love towards swimming and
badminton. But most importantly, for us, she has been showing
special interest and passion in performing her spiritual activities at
Balvikas. At the age of 5, Meghna, with her tiny footsteps, started
following her teacher Smt. Lekha Sasi. As time passed, she started
admiring this divine art-form and with her guru’s constant motivation
and encouragement, she was being slowly groomed to take her
place on this wonderful platform. Today, with the blessings of Shree
Raja Rajeshwari Devi, and in the presence of her Guru, grandparents,
parents, and all the loved ones, she is going to give her first stage
performance. With this Bharatanatyam Arangetram, as she passes
this important milestone, in her journey of life, we solicit your gracious
presence and seek your special blessings upon our daughter.
NIDHI NAMBIAR
D/O Mrs. Varada Nambiar & Mr. Hemant Nambiar
Grade 6th
New Millennium School - DPS Bahrain
‘Nidhi’, as her name suggests, is the ‘treasure’,
we cherish in our lives. Nidhi grew up capturing
the hearts of those close to her with her
cheerfulness and charming demeanor.
While a toddler, Nidhi had a natural inclination for dance which
was channelized into a formal training in Bharatanatyam from the
age of 4. Time has wings and after 6 long years with the endeavor
of her Guru, Mrs. Lekha Sasi, Nidhi is taking a step forward, which
marks a milestone towards this discipline of Art. Her first public
performance or ‘Arangetram’ as it is popularly known, is viewed
as a graduation by many, but is a first step into the vast ocean of
performing arts. We hope and pray Nidhi’s perseverance in
dance blossoms by leaps and bounds in the coming years, having
laid a solid foundation with Bharatanatyam. Academically always
an achiever, Nidhi’s other interests include reading and
swimming. As an orator, she has done remarkably well at multiple
opportunities presented by her school. At this momentous
juncture in her life, Nidhi along with her parents seeks the
blessings of her grandparents, Guru and all our well-wishers for
this Arangetram and the years to come.

SADUNI MICHAEL NAVIS
D/o Mrs. Deepani Michael & Mr. Michael Navis
Grade 5th
Bahrain Indian School (Bhavans) - Bahrain
"Live your life ... express your love, Share
your enthusiasm ...take your actions towards
your dreams. Walk with your talk and Dance
to your own rhythm, Embrace your blessings
and make today worth remembering."
Saduni Michael, is a very charming, enthusiastic, and loving child, daughter
of Mrs. Deepani Michael & Mr. Michael Navis from Kanyakumari District
in Tamil Nadu. She began to learn Bharatanatyam at the age of 3 years
and 6 months under the Guru Smt. Lekha Sasi, a master of the art from
Kalakshetra, Chennai. Along with Bharatanatyam she is learning Carnatic
music, Cinematic dance, Drawing and Badminton. She proved herself
with the excellent academic performance too. Her younger sister
Tharahai Michael Navis likes following her elder sister Saduni in extra
Curriculum. Saduni has participated individual cinematic dance in
Bahrain for the 41st national day celebration in Isa Town cultural
society and the organizers appreciated her. On this auspicious
occasion of her life, blessing from her grandparents, parents and Guru
and other relatives and friends to achieve great mile stone in various
section of activities other than academics.
SHOBHITHA KRISHNAN
D/O Mrs. Prabha Krishnan & Mr. A.G. Krishnan
Grade 7th
The Indian School - Bahrain
Shobhitha would like to sincerely thank her
Guru Smt. Lekha Sasi for all her motivation,
mentoring and excellent training to realize
her dream of performing a Bharatanatyam
Arangetram come true. Over the years, she has enjoyed every
class of learning the intricacies of Bharatanatyam. Shobhitha has
always been the one with a lively and creative personality. She
gained her passion for dance by watching her elder sister Shruti
perform her Arangetram. Apart from dance, she also learns
carnatic music and excels in academics and has participated and
won many awards in various extra -curricular activities in her
school. Along with Shruti and parents, Shobhitha seeks the
blessings of almighty god for her successful performance in this
Arangetram. She would like to thank all her friends, well wishers
and co-performers for their goodwill and support.
SREELAKSHMI C. MANOJ
D/O Mrs. Biji C.K & Mr. Manoj Cherukulathil
Grade 7th
The Indian School - Bahrain
Sreelakshmi -hailing from the Indian state
of Kerala, started her journey of dance at
the age of five with Mrs. Babitha Chettiyar
and transitioned her foot steps to
Mrs. Deepa Harish. For the past 3 years she is learning
Bharatanatyam under the guidance of her Guru, Mrs. Lekha
Sasi. Dance is one of her passions which provides immense joy
& relaxation to her. Apart from dance, she learns carnatic music
from Mrs. Sangeetha Ramprasad and has completed 7 levels
in Abacus. She is quite zealous in taking part in key cultural
events and won many prizes in cinematic dance. Together
with her elder brother Vinayak, she is also an enthusiastic Gavelier
at the ‘Young Orators Gavels Club’. One of her dreams is to
become an accomplished Bharatanatyam Dancer. On the
auspicious occasion of her Arangetram , Sreelakshmi would like
to dedicate her prayers to the Almighty and seeks blessings
from her Guru, Parents, friends and well-wishers.

Bharatanatyam is one of India's oldest and most dynamic classical dance forms with a
history of more than two thousand years.Its origins date to the 2200 year old manuscript
called Natyashastra, which is a grand treatise covering all aspects of dance, drama and
theatre. Bharatanatyam consists of three elements: Nritta, Nrithya and Natya. “Nritta” is
the purely rhythmic element through which body movements are used to express the
language of rhythm devoid of any interpretation. “Nrithya” is the element through which
rhythm and expression are combined to convey poetic meaning. “Natya” is the dramatic
element through which a story or scene is enacted.
The word Bharatanatyam is an acronym framed from the syllable of the words Bhava
(Expression), Raga(Melody), Tala(Rhythm) and Natyam(Dance). The dance form is based
on “Adavu”(steps) and “Hastamudra” (hand gestures).
The dancer traditionally dances to Carnatic classical music led by vocalists with musical
accompaniment from one or more classical instrumentalists and percussion support on
the Mridangam (an ancient percussion instrument of South India). The dance is traditionally
conducted by the Guru using the “Nattuvangam”.
The costume of a Bharatanatyam dancer includes a colourful dress, traditionally made of
silk, Jewellery made of silver and gold and most importantly “salangai” (a pair of anklets
with small bells) that the dancer uses to amplify the rhythm.
In 1936 Guru Rukmini Devi Arundale’s desire to restore the full spiritual potential of the
dance made her start the Kalakshetra, an institution for the teaching of Bharatanatyam.
She introduced group performances and staged various Bharatanatyam based performances,
which created a valuable repository of the arts to be handed down to generations to come.
Mrs. Lekha Sasi (The Guru “Kalakshetra” )
Lekha Sasi, daughter of late Shri Kalamandalam Gangadharan,
hailing from a family of artistes, has been performing dance from
the tender age of three. A post graduate in Bharatanatyam from
the topmost Fine Arts College of India, “Kalakshetra” Chennai, she
has also learnt Mohiniyattam and Kathakali from renowned
teachers. She has been the recipient of a two year scholarship
for research and higher studies from the Government of India.
Mrs. Lekha Sasi has performed all over India as well as in France,
Russia, Spain, Holland, Portugal and Germany as part of the
Cultural Exchange Programme of the Government of India. She
has had the privilege of working at the Kalakshetra college of Fine
Arts as a lecturer in Bharatanatyam for four years. At present she
is a teacher at The Indian School, Kingdom of Bahrain.
The year 2018 marks her completion of 25 years imparting training
in the dance form of Bharatanatyam in the island of Bahrain.
K.C. Gireesh (Vocalist)
A very young and talented vocalist, Gireesh started training in music at
the age of ten years with Shri. Chattu Bagavathar – Calicut. He furthered
his training with Mrs. Sajitha Narayanan, disciple of Shri. S. Kalyana
Raman and continued studies in Kalakshetra Foundation with Shri.
Salem D. Chellam Iyengar and Shri. Vairamangalam S. Lakshmi Narayanan,
and continues his association with them as a vocal support artist.
Gireesh has accompanied vocal and Nattuvangam artists working along
with Kalakshetra and renowned dancers in India and abroad.
K.S. Sudhaman (Mridangam)
Sudhaman started learning Mridangam from his father late Shri. K.N.S.
Namboodiri in Kerala and later received advance training from Shri.
M.N. Kandaswami Pillay in Chennai. He is an A grade artist in AIR and
Doordarshan. Sudhaman received the prestigious ‘Yuva Kala Bharathi’
award for the Best Mridangam artist in the year 2002. He has performed
with all leading dancers such as Padmabhushan Dr. Padma Subramaniam,
Padmashree Chithra Visweswaran and Padmashree Oorvashi Shobhana
among others. Sudhaman has performed in countries such as US, UK,
Canada, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, France, Denmark, South
Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Sri Lanka.
Mrs. Vidya Gireesh (Veena)
Vidya started learning music at the age of five. After completing her
schooling, she joined the world renowned institution Kalakshetra
Foundation as a full time vocal and veena student. Vidya completed
her MA and MPhil from Mother Teresa University. and later continued
her veena training under Gurus Padmavathy Ananthagopalan and Prof.
R.S. Jayalakshmi. She is a performing artist and a teacher both in vocal
and veena. Vidya continues to perform in concerts as a solo veena
player and as an accompanying artist in various dance performances.

Angikam Bhuvanam Yasya
Vachikam Sarva Vangmayam
Aaharyam Chandra Taradi
Tam Numah Satvikam Shivam
We bow to Him the benevolent One,
Whose limbs are the universe,
Whose song and poetry are the essence of all languages,
Whose ornaments are the moon and the stars…