Meenakshi Ganesan shares her passion
Teaching Bharatanatyam’s values
Teaching Bharatanatyam’s values
her, and Meenakshi agreed to be interviewed for Asian Wisconzine.
Meenakshi arrived in Madison in 2001, after an arranged marriage that considered horoscope-matching and meeting a specific criterion
of “classical Indian dancing.” While the tradition is no longer widely practiced at present, Meenakshi said she felt all right with it.
“My husband’s parents used to attend a lot of concerts in India when they were looking for his girl,” Meenakshi recalled with a smile. “They
never saw me in any of those concerts; however, my aunt and guru happens to be a relative of my future mother-in-law. She told her about
me, so she visited me, and apparently liked me very much.”
Meenakshi said that was the start of her correspondence with Arvind, her husband, also an Indian and longtime resident of Milwaukee. “I
saw Arvind’s picture and he saw mine, and we exchanged songs,” she said, adding that both of them were also young professionals who
were ready to start a family. “Arvind did his bachelor’s in Marquette University and then his master’s in Minnesota, and when he moved to
Madison in 1999, at 26, he started looking for a wife.” He is now a vice president of a software company in Middleton. Meanwhile, Meenakshi
has a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business, and back in India, she managed the finance and administrative department of a private
firm.
Classical dancing, however, she stressed, has always been her love and passion. “I started dancing at age 6, and at 13, I did my first
stage debut called “Aretnatyam,” where I danced for three hours, performing nine items, including a major dance piece called ‘Varnam,’
which was done continuously for 35 minutes,” Meenakshi explained. “From then on, I participated in many school and college dance
competitions.” She said she’s honored to have won a lot of awards, including the title of “Nritya Mayuri” (Dancing Peacock), which was
conferred to her by India’s Ministry of Education in 1996.
Meenakshi pursues her passion for Indian classical dancing through her own Kalaanjali School of Dance and Music. “I would like to
spread our art and, at some point in the future, to establish a good professional dance troupe that can present different mythological stories,”
she said, expressing hope and excitement about the prospect. “I would like to reach that level of performance that is more understandable to
the audience.”
Meanwhile, Meenakshi continues to mentor more than 20 young dancers, not only about Indian classical dance and music, but also about
building personal and emotional strength. “If there’s conflict in your mind and you cannot release it, you cannot dance with your whole heart,”
she said. In addition, she and her husband Arvind have been very busy raising their first-born, Surya, who used to just watch every
performance of his loving mom while his dad worked on the music and sound. Surya nowadays also performs at Indian events, either singing
a classical song or dancing a modern beat. The sight of the three of them always in their traditional clothes make me sigh, in these modern
times, this family is creating beautiful Indian music together.
Meenakshi arrived in Madison in 2001, after an arranged marriage that considered horoscope-matching and meeting a specific criterion
of “classical Indian dancing.” While the tradition is no longer widely practiced at present, Meenakshi said she felt all right with it.
“My husband’s parents used to attend a lot of concerts in India when they were looking for his girl,” Meenakshi recalled with a smile. “They
never saw me in any of those concerts; however, my aunt and guru happens to be a relative of my future mother-in-law. She told her about
me, so she visited me, and apparently liked me very much.”
Meenakshi said that was the start of her correspondence with Arvind, her husband, also an Indian and longtime resident of Milwaukee. “I
saw Arvind’s picture and he saw mine, and we exchanged songs,” she said, adding that both of them were also young professionals who
were ready to start a family. “Arvind did his bachelor’s in Marquette University and then his master’s in Minnesota, and when he moved to
Madison in 1999, at 26, he started looking for a wife.” He is now a vice president of a software company in Middleton. Meanwhile, Meenakshi
has a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business, and back in India, she managed the finance and administrative department of a private
firm.
Classical dancing, however, she stressed, has always been her love and passion. “I started dancing at age 6, and at 13, I did my first
stage debut called “Aretnatyam,” where I danced for three hours, performing nine items, including a major dance piece called ‘Varnam,’
which was done continuously for 35 minutes,” Meenakshi explained. “From then on, I participated in many school and college dance
competitions.” She said she’s honored to have won a lot of awards, including the title of “Nritya Mayuri” (Dancing Peacock), which was
conferred to her by India’s Ministry of Education in 1996.
Meenakshi pursues her passion for Indian classical dancing through her own Kalaanjali School of Dance and Music. “I would like to
spread our art and, at some point in the future, to establish a good professional dance troupe that can present different mythological stories,”
she said, expressing hope and excitement about the prospect. “I would like to reach that level of performance that is more understandable to
the audience.”
Meanwhile, Meenakshi continues to mentor more than 20 young dancers, not only about Indian classical dance and music, but also about
building personal and emotional strength. “If there’s conflict in your mind and you cannot release it, you cannot dance with your whole heart,”
she said. In addition, she and her husband Arvind have been very busy raising their first-born, Surya, who used to just watch every
performance of his loving mom while his dad worked on the music and sound. Surya nowadays also performs at Indian events, either singing
a classical song or dancing a modern beat. The sight of the three of them always in their traditional clothes make me sigh, in these modern
times, this family is creating beautiful Indian music together.
By Heidi M. Pascual
Meenakshi Ganesan (left) strikes me as a gentle and sweet Indian musician and dancer, who takes
her art very seriously. When I first met her, she was going to perform an Indian classical dance,
Bharatanatyam, before the Association of Indians in America. It was an event to honor Indian scholars,
Indian professionals who are serving India’s poor, and other local individuals who are helping the
association reach out to the Madison community. Meenakshi, wearing a bright gold and red Indian outfit, a
colorful headdress, and gold jewelry, did not just dance. With her red-painted hands, she grabbed a
microphone and told her audience what Bharatanatyam means, how she would perform it, and what the
movements mean to her. While many adult Indian Americans understood her introductions, several more,
including Indian American youths born in the U.S. and guests from other nationalities knew very little
about it, myself included.
“Bharatanatyam is synonymous with ‘Bharat’ … dancing to the eternal sounds of the drums of the
universe,” she read. “ It is also an acronym framed from the syllables of the words ‘Bhava’ (expression),
‘Raga’ (melody), ‘Thala’ (rhythm), and ‘Natyam’ (dance).” It is acknowledged as the oldest of all classical
dance forms in India, she added, the embodiment of music in its visual form. Then she awed all of us with
her graceful body and arm movements coupled with a powerful footwork and varied facial expressions.
After this gathering, I saw her perform in a number of other events in Madison, showcasing her culture,
with her young students from the Kalaanjali School of Dance. I became interested in knowing more about
Meenakshi Ganesan (left) strikes me as a gentle and sweet Indian musician and dancer, who takes
her art very seriously. When I first met her, she was going to perform an Indian classical dance,
Bharatanatyam, before the Association of Indians in America. It was an event to honor Indian scholars,
Indian professionals who are serving India’s poor, and other local individuals who are helping the
association reach out to the Madison community. Meenakshi, wearing a bright gold and red Indian outfit, a
colorful headdress, and gold jewelry, did not just dance. With her red-painted hands, she grabbed a
microphone and told her audience what Bharatanatyam means, how she would perform it, and what the
movements mean to her. While many adult Indian Americans understood her introductions, several more,
including Indian American youths born in the U.S. and guests from other nationalities knew very little
about it, myself included.
“Bharatanatyam is synonymous with ‘Bharat’ … dancing to the eternal sounds of the drums of the
universe,” she read. “ It is also an acronym framed from the syllables of the words ‘Bhava’ (expression),
‘Raga’ (melody), ‘Thala’ (rhythm), and ‘Natyam’ (dance).” It is acknowledged as the oldest of all classical
dance forms in India, she added, the embodiment of music in its visual form. Then she awed all of us with
her graceful body and arm movements coupled with a powerful footwork and varied facial expressions.
After this gathering, I saw her perform in a number of other events in Madison, showcasing her culture,
with her young students from the Kalaanjali School of Dance. I became interested in knowing more about
