Hardworking and self-confident Sankari Mridha continues to build strong bridges in Indian dance not only in the two brotherly countries of India-Bangladesh but also in the UK.
Born in Payradanga near Ranaghat, West Bengal, India, she is now a star of the Indian classical dance scene.
Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance specialty. The dance is believed to have originated in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the four main genres of Indian classical dance. The other three are Kathak, Kathakali and Manipuri.
Anthropologists say about the origin of dance—Dance was born even before there was no language in the mouth of man. If culture can be thought of as the essence of civilization then the quadrants of this culture are dance, painting, music and literature. These bear considerable importance in the writings of world poet Rabindranath Tagore.
Hundreds of students have studied Bharat Natyam in New Delhi, the capital of India. This light of education has spread all around. And Sankari Mridha has completed this work in secret.
Her husband Nilratan Mridha is a good diplomat. In 2013, due to her husband’s job, she moved to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
Can she just stay at home with such a good performance? She started working as a teacher at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Center. As a result, his field of work increased in the divisional cities of Bangladesh. This is how Sankari Mridha became popular in Bangladesh.
In 2016, her husband was posted to the Indian embassy in London, UK. There, she is taking Bharat Natyam classes in various state educational institutes. The UK government has given her a work permit.
Apart from the UK, students from Bangladesh and India join Sankari Mridha online for daily classes. Sankari Mridha commented that this deep love between teacher and students will last for ages.
She told this reporter that Bharat Natyam Dance has found its place in film lately. The acceptance of this dance will increase in the future.
She said, Bharat Natyam dance has become very popular in the UK. Its prevalence will increase in the future.
She said, many of my students in Bangladesh are scholars.
Being a firm believer in maintaining the integrity of tradition, Sankari Mridha is a bharatanatyam performer, teacher and choreographer currently residing and teaching in London.
Bangladesh was blessed to have Sankari for a 3 year period from 2013 to 2016. She has played a major role in spreading Indian culture throughout Bangladesh with her performances. During her stay, she performed in many places in Bangladesh where all described her performances as graceful and elegant.
