Dr. Ajith Bhaskar's beautiful journey in dance

- V.V. Ramani
e-mail: ramanigaru@gmail.com

September 7, 2025

The young boy tagged along as an escort for his sister to Bharatanatyam class. Little did he realize that the sounds of the Thattukazhi that reverberated there in the class, would transform his life, and that dance would become his life's calling one day. Dr Ajith Bhaskar's dedicated pursuit of dance has shaped his illustrious journey in the field. His contributions have been recognised, with the Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 being bestowed upon him from Sugam Culture and Heritage Foundation, the most premier music and dance organisation in Malaysia, recently.

Travelling through a time capsule, Dr Ajith Bhaskar shares his reminiscences. "Living in a small place in Johor Bahru, my father wanted to inculcate the rich cultural heritage to children there; hence, with great enthusiasm, he provided a space for Santha Bhaskar to teach Bharatanatyam to his daughter and other children around. I accompanied my sister and when we came back, I used to practice all that was taught there with great interest. Like 'Ekalavya' I learnt the basics for nearly four years, till the time my sister had to discontinue. My passion for dance was unabated, so after convincing my father that I would get good grades in school, I continued to learn from Bhanumathi Krishnan, a senior disciple of Santha Bhaskar. Later, I continued learning from Kamakshi Jayaraman (Kala Mandir / Temple of Fine Arts, Singapore) by going to Singapore every week."

"No diversion with dance," said his father when he joined the law faculty of Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumper in 1987, but providence had other plans. His sister, who was in her final year in the same university, took him for a programme of Ramli Ibrahim. Watching Odissi for the first time, Ajith was awed by the charismatic dance of Ramli, the grandiose use of lights and sets. When he and his sister met Ramli backstage, Ajith enthusiastically mentioned about his dance training. Ramli told them that he was auditioning for a programme, and if Ajith was interested, he could come. He grabbed the opportunity and once selected, he started to train under Ramli. The four and a half years there were a long and intense period of learning and training. He was initiated into Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Ballet and contemporary movements, learning everything by osmosis. He adapted with ease, moving from Vazhuvoor / Pandanallur bani of his earlier teachers to Kalakshetra bani at Sutra.

Juggling studies, performing frequently for many shows and learning from Guru Adyar K Lakshman who came frequently to Sutra, learning Odissi from Guru Gajendra Panda in Bhubaneswar, it was a period of enriching learning and performing experiences. Ajith would also travel during holidays to learn from Adyar Lakshman initially and Dhananjayans later in Chennai. However, all this came to a standstill when he had to return to Johor Bahru on his father's insistence to pursue his career in law.

After two years of legal practice, he realised his heart was in dance. Thus, he came back to Santha Bhaskar, the pioneer dance Guru and Cultural Medalion Awardee of Singapore. Santha Bhaskar, along with her husband K.P. Bhaskar, are the founders of Bhaskar's Art Academy. She prepared Ajith for his Arangetram and later he performed widely with her group as the prime male dancer.

Meanwhile, he started taking dance classes at his house in 1992. "It was an enriching process for me also, when I went through the process of relearning, digesting all that I had learnt over the years, to pass it on to the students". In 1993, he established Suvarna Fine Arts, where he is the principal and artistic director, and at present with three more branches handled by his senior disciples.

Dr Ajith Bhaskar

Around the time when his performance career was moving successfully, he wanted a Guru to guide and fine tune his art. He joined Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society, where Shanta Ponnudurai was his teacher, a senior Kalakshetra alumni. She was insistent and made him train from the basics like Thattadavu all over again. "It was such a humbling experience to shed aside my ego and start afresh, but my passion ruled and I enjoyed the process. I surrendered to the rigorous effort."

During this time, he was invited to be a part of Dhananjayans' collaboration with Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society for the production of 'Sanghamitra'. That enriching experience led to his continued learning from them during holiday visits at Bharata Kalanjali. The training, aesthetic refinement in the art of presentation both for solo and group that he imbibed from them, are part of his cherished memories. Speaking about the vast learning he had from these varied Gurus, he says, "I have had the fortune of learning from three Shanta's - Santha Bhaskar, Shanta Ponnudurai and Shanta Dhananjayan."

A sudden invitation when a dancer dropped out, made him a part of Lakshmi Viswanathan's 'Vata Vriksha' where he had only three days to learn his moves. His effort paid off and he then became a part of her next production, 'Chaturanga'. He has fond memories of learning and imbibing nuances of abhinaya and musical acumen during his stay at Chennai. A brief foray with Kalanidhi Narayan honed his expressive skills further. Between 1987 and 1999, he went to USA every year to be a part of summer camps and all productions of Viji Prakash, artistic director of Shakti Dance Company, Los Angeles.

"Every teacher enriched my mind space with their knowledge, but Santha Bhaskar and Kalanidhi Maami were the motivating factors for me to dwell deep into text, context and subtext."

Ajith has travelled widely across the globe, performing in many group productions and also given solo performances. He was the first male Indian classical dancer to be featured in International Arts Festival, Frankfurt, Germany in 2000, first Malaysian dancer to perform in Lincoln Centre and Joyce Theatre, Broadway in 2003 and has won many accolades and awards.

"He is a master craftsman of Bharatanatyam from Malaysia," said VP. Dhananjayan. Los Angeles Times, with an emphasis on his "Nureyev appeal," said, "Ajith fuses techniques and creativity in a judicious mix and reinvents and reinterprets within the classical framework." He was voted as best male dancer in Margazhi festival in 1996 by Sankarabharanam Trust in Chennai. A special pride of place in his career is being nominated for best choreography and costume design by BOH Cameronuan Malaysian Arts Awards, for his home production 'Echoing Anklets.'

Dr Ajith Bhaskar

Some of his other works, Gowrishvara, Ujjwala, Raghava Yadhava, Vismaya Vriksha, Bhumi Pranaam, and Sapthashree have been well received. Ajith shared, "In all my productions, I research extensively by reading various texts; then, I work with music composers that can bring to life my interpretation of all my thought processes. I have a very clear idea of which Ragas and Talas to be used in each sequence. It is a long and tedious process of brainstorming till I find the spark that resonates with me. Only after I have a structured musical score that aligns with my artistic visions, I begin my choreography. This is the most exciting part of my creative process."

With his institution being registered as an NGO, he is focusing on contributing to society, by way of working with government bodies in arts education and in propagating the arts widely. He is working on a project - seeking unity in diversity by looking at unifying factors of rhythm through different trajectories and diverse cultural practices of Malaysia.

"This Lifetime Achievement Award is such a momentous recognition in my life, validating my choice, pursuit, passion, and love for the art of Bharatanatyam. It is a motivation to continue on this beautiful journey destined for me."

V.V. Ramani is a Chennai based multi-dimensional artist working in diverse fields ranging from collages and painting, teaching art, textile and costume designing, stage sets designing and wedding decor, to writing on visual and performing arts.

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