The word Silambam in Tamil was referred to as Samu in Telugu in the Sangita Saramruta of King Tulaja of Tanjore (1729-1735) indicating the practice of dance. It is the name by which Bharatanatyam was known and the dance hall itself was called the 'Silamba Koodam' in the olden days.
MRIDULA ANAND:
Mridula Anand has been learning Bharatanatyam from the age of 9. A student of celebrated danseuse Padmasree Professor Sudharani Raghupathy, she joined Shree Bharatalaya in 1986 and had her arangetram in 1991. Since her arangetram in 1991, she has given several solo performances in leading sabhas of Chennai and has also participated in many of the dance dramas of Sudharani and her dance school, Shree Bharathalaya, like Ramayanam, Krishnam Vande Jagat Gurum, Shakthi Prabhavam and Vande Guham Umasutham and has donned various important roles such as Sita, Rukmimi and Durga in these productions.
She has performed in many places in India under the auspices of renowned banners. She has performed in all the major dance festivals in Chennai and in other parts of India and was awarded the' Award for Excellence' in 2000 by Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, as part of its centenary year celebrations. The award instituted in 1998 is presented in the memory of M.Venkatakrishnan, former President of the Sabha. She was also awarded the title 'Bharata Kala Bhushana' during the 32nd anniversary celebrations of Sree Bharatalaya titled 'Natya Devo Bhava' in 2002.
Mridula's interest not only lies with learning and perfecting classical Indian music and dance but to also to strongly promote it. She was the Cultural Chairperson at the Sri Venkateswara Temple, Pittsburgh, USA for the 2006-2007 year. One of the most well recognized and largest temples in the US, SV Temple has always had a special regard for cultural and religious activities. She has helped organize concerts by leading artists from India and USA in Pittsburgh and is always keen on bridging the gap between performers and the rasikas. She has innovated in the introduction of adapting compositions to dance, for the first time, to the Thyagaraja, Alwar, Purandaradasa and Annamacharya Aradhanas held yearly with great fanfare at the SV Temple.
With the blessings of her guru Mridula started her school of dance, 'Silambam', in Pittsburgh, USA in 2005. Started due to her interest in continuing the unique Sree Bharatalaya tradition of Bharatanatyam, it has now grown into a close knit class whose students echo her enthusiasm for learning the intricate dance form.Mirroring her interest in dance, she is also interested in the research of basic science, which prompted her to study Biochemistry and Zoology before pursuing a more specialized subject. After finishing her Masters in Molecular Biology at Stanford University, USA, Mridula is a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, PA.
She also helped organize and perform in a multi-city US tour of the famous Dance production 'Krishnam Vande Jagat Gurum' in 2007.This production was staged in Phoenix, Houston, Austin, Pittsburgh,Los Angeles, San Diego and Columbus during August-September ‘07.
She is also an excellent vocalist who has given many performances and also is a member of an Indian classical music group -“SWARANJALI”.
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