Woods are lovely dark & deep, But I have promises to keep
& miles to go before I sleep
As the shadows of evening touch the horizon, my mind passes through the memory lane & peeps in my childhood. The tiny feet, at the age of three used to respond the musical & rhythmical cycles of the nature. The artistic aptitude rightly sensed by my father, Mr. P. U. Kulkarni and mother Mrs. Rajani & since then …..The fascinating journey of artistic Pleasure entered my life with the guiding hand of Guru Satyanarayan.
Ample of interschool & college dance competition prizes held me to persue the art with sincere efforts.
With the Bombay university degree in English literature I entered Nalanda dance Research centre; affiliated to the university of Bombay in 1985 my day used to start & end with dance & only dance. All those four golden years was nothing else; but the nonstop practice of dance for hours together, attending dance workshops, participating different dance festivals & studying ample of referance books under the able guidence of Padmashree Dr.(Mrs.) Kanak Rele & T. V. Saundarajan Guruji. As a result of all these I topped the university throughout and stood first with distinction. I was overwhelmed when I received the prestigious “Sir Nageshwar Rao Award” from the university and the National Scholarship for the year 1989-91. Later Guru Mrs. Mythili Raghavan has guided me and shaped a dancer within me.
Since then I started performing solo at the professional level on the major platforms in India & abroad. After receiving “Yuva Bharati” & “Sangeetonmesh” Award I bagged “Nritya Alankar” from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal in 1997.
In the year 2000 & 2002, I traveled throughout U.S. & Europe as a solo Bharat Natyam performer & its success added one more gem in my crowning glory. The appreciation of renowned artists & Critics in India helped me to boost my artistic persuits. The repeat audience & a grand public aploud was delightful outcome of my abroad trips. When the people come and meet me in the green room in India saying they have watched my performances in abroad makes me happy as an artist!
I was impressed by the striking similarities between Yoga & Bharatnatyam practically. I started persuing the matter and to my great delight the National Fellowship year (2000-2002) was offered to me for that.
In the year1989, I founded my own dance institute named “Nrityasadhana” & started giving training to the young aspirants in Bharatnatyam. I produced & choreographed dance ballets, Namely, Krishna Lila Natakam, Srujan, Yugantara, Tamaso ma Jyotirgamaya, Shivashakti, Ashish ha Ganarayacha & Radha.
With the blessings of Lord Nataraj & appreciation from the art lovers all over the world I am devoted to my art with sincere efforts, and want to achieve the higher perspectives on the horizon of this age old traditional dance form of Indian cultural heritage i.e. Bharatnatyam
It was all about Abhinay and Taal . The concluding session of iMAP 2001-2002 held at the St. Josephs School hall in Pashan, was conducted by Bharat Natyam dancer Swati Daithankar. Swati explained abhinay and mudra to the student of the school, by demonstrating and explaining the techniques and poses, through a narrative, while her two disciples depicted the postures on stage. She also narrated the history of dance and how the various posture came about. At the end she presented a solo item too.
Swati has topped her graduation in dance at the Bombay University, has trained with Padmashree Kanak Rele and Maithili Raghavan. She now runs her Nritya Sadhana school and is also examiner for dance at the University and various other institutes.
The iMAP,(Indian Musical Awareness Program) was presented by the Atul Kulkarni's Art and Music Foundation, Pune, which strives to make youngsters aware of our heritage and also promote talented artistes.