Ramya Ranganathan: A Bharatanatyam Dancer

Ramya Ranganathan: 

A Bharatanatyam Dancer

Bharatanatyam is a form of classical Indian dance, popularly seen in South India. One of the popular schools of bharatanatyam dance in Arizona is the Ponnambalam Golden Temple of Fine Arts.

“Ponn” means gold in Tamil and “ambalam” means temple. Both of these together create the synonym for “Kanaka Sabha” in Sanskrit, the place where Lord Natraja, the Hindu God of dance, which is an avatar of Lord Shiva, performed at the holy place Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu.

The Ponnambalam Golden Temple of Fine Arts, which has centers in Bangalore and Mumbai, is a non-profitable organization formed by artists, art lovers and art critics with the sole aim of propagating and promoting the Indian classical art forms of music and dance, according to a flyer about the dance school.

Under the guidance of Guru Ranjani Ganesan Ramesh of Kalakshetra, a student of this dance school moved to Arizona and is teaching young girls and adults in the Valley to dance bharatanatyam.

Ramya Ranganathan is a popular bharatanatyam dance teacher in the Valley. She commenced to PGTFA’s Arizona chapter in 2014. She and her students have since then performed in many venues in Arizona and let her branch of the dance school to success.

Ramya Ranganathan

Ranganathan said she was only a newborn baby when her maternal grandmother saw her and decided that she should be a dancer.

“She said I have the face and feet of a dancer,” Ranganathan said.

Ranganathan started learning dance at the age of eight under Guru Malathy Thothatri. After eight years under Thothadri’s tutelage, she performed her arangetram, which is a debut on stage performance for an Indian classical dancer, after which she “performed in different dance festivals and sabhas in Chennai." Ranganathan studied for a total of 12 years under Guru Thothadri.

Ramya Ranganathan (center) performing with two other dancers at Pima Hall at the Memorial Union on Arizona State University's Tempe campus on April 8th, 2017

Ranganathan started her advanced training under Guru Ramesh after she got a job at Intel in Bangalore.

“I took advanced training under her and performed in Bangalore and Bombay crowd because her school is based in Bangalore but her family is from Bombay,” Ranganathan said. “I had to travel quite a bit, shuttling between the two.”

Ranganathan said Guru Ramesh taught her the Kalakshetra style of bharatanatyam dance and how to take dance to the spiritual level.

“She taught me that dance is for everybody,” Ranganathan said.

When Ranganathan moved to the US, she took a break from dance due to having children and doing her Masters at the University of Southern California majoring in multimedia creative art technologies. However, her teacher Guru Ramesh guided her to start the Ponnambalam Golden Temple of Fine Arts Arizona chapter in 2014.

Every year, Ranganathan hosts the Jagadananda Karaka, which is a “platform to promote the youth talent, encouraging and showcasing the youth talent within Arizona.”

“This was the second year we conducted the Jagadananda Karaka and we plan to continue doing it every year,” Ranganathan said.

Through Jagadananda Karaka, Ranganathan is currently trying to raise funds to build a temple called a Ramashramam for an auspicious idol of Lord Rama in Selaiyur in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in India.

This particular idol of Rama is that of his “pattabhishekam” or crowning ceremony after returning to Ayodhya after his 14-year exile.

The key aspects of the idol are shown in the picture of the flyer below.

A description of the auspicious features and symbolism of the particular idol of Rama that Ramya Ranganathan is raising funds to build a temple for in Selaiyur, Chennai.

“I want to request all the noble hearts of Arizona and worldwide to provide financial support to be able to consecrate permanently this Sri Ananda Rama in the Ramashramam,” Ranganathan said.

Ranganathan said that donations can be sent to the Thirunamacharyan Trust, the details of which are included in the flyer she provided.

Details of where to send the donations to build the temple

Ranganathan said that you can also reach her for donations or ideas for funding via Facebook or her email.

Bowing after the performance

Rama Navami

Rama Navami

Millions of Hindus will spend the day chanting the name of the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. Devotees will make Paanagam at home as an offering to the king of Ayodhya, husband of the goddess Sita. Poojas will be performed at home as well as in Hindu temples across the world.

April 4th, 2017, will be celebrated as Rama Navami. Lord Rama was the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. He wielded a bow and arrow and is famous for one of the two great Indian epics, the Ramayana. His birthday is a part of the spring Navratri and falls on the ninth day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) in the Hindu month of Chaithra. This day is celebrated as Rama Navami.

Rama with his wife Sita on the right and brother Lakshmana on the left and devotee Hanuman at his feet

  This year, on Rama Navami, the Bharatiya Ekta Mandir Temple of Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona, is hosting a celebration. There will be a pooja, a play, and a group Carnatic music performance. The Carnatic music performers will sing eight songs dedicated to Lord Rama. According to the temple's website, there will also be a celebration of Rama and Sita's marriage, during which devotees pretend to witness Rama and Sita's wedding and marry them off. The event is called Sree Sita Rama Kalyanam.

  Rama is the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu, also called Narayana, is part of the great trinity of Hindu gods, alongside Shiva and Brahma. Brahma is the creator, Shiva is the protector and destroyer and Vishnu is the protector.

  It is said that Vishnu will take ten forms, or avatars, on Earth - the first nine to save humanity, and the 10th to destroy everything.

  The Ramayana is essentially the entire life story of Rama. However, a basic summary of the Indian epic goes like this. Dasharatha ruled over the kingdom of Ayodhya. He has three wives who, together, gave birth to four sons on the same day. These four sons, Rama, Laksmana, Bharatha and Shatrugna, were the princes of Ayodhya. Rama, the oldest and Dasharatha’s favorite, was set to be the crown prince. That's when disaster struck.

  One of the queens, Kaikeyi, was brainwashed into asking Dasharatha to banish prince Rama for 14 years and to make her own son the crown prince. Since Dasharatha had promised Kaikeyi two boons he would grant, he was obligated to fulfill her wishes. Prince Rama was banished to the forest for 14 years. His wife Sita, the avatar of the goddess Lakshmi, the god Vishnu’s wife in heaven, accompanied Rama to the forest. Rama’s brother Lakshmana also accompanied him.

  In the forest, the three lived happily until Sita was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana and taken to Lanka - now known as Sri Lanka. Rama and Lakshmana search everywhere for Sita. During the search, Rama befriends Hanuman, Sugreeva and a tribe of monkeys. Eventually, Rama, Lakshmana and an army of monkeys and bears realize Sita is held captive at Lanka.

  The army builds a bridge, known as the Rama Setu, which still exists today, from the southernmost tip of India to Sri Lanka. It is said that the name Rama has been inscribed on each stone used in this bridge. The Rama Setu, unfortunately, has long since been submerged in the Indian ocean due to rising sea levels.

Rama Setu bridge

  The army crosses over to Lanka and fights the ten-headed Ravana and his army of demons. Rama eventually chops off all of Ravana’s heads, killing him. Sita is rescued and reunited with Rama.

Rama fighting Ravana

  By the time Sita is rescued, 14 years have gone by since Rama was exiled, so they returned happily to Ayodhya. The day Rama returns is celebrated as Diwali in India.

Rama Navami is not a huge festival in India and is typically not a public holiday. However, schools and firms that wish to declare the day a holiday may do so.