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Shovana Narayan is a recognized Indian Kathak dancer and a career officer with Indian Audit and Accounts Service. She has been trained by the highly revered Pt. Birju Maharaj, performs in India and internationally and has been awarded the Padma Shri.
“A Saree is a symbol of determination & power. It gives you an enchanting confidence.”
As a "performer and guru", Shovana Narayan has performed widely in several prestigious national and international festivals and before several heads of state and governments and has trained several Kathak artists of the young generation. As a "choreographer performer," Shovana Narayan has spearheaded and produced international collaborative works with leading dancers of western classical ballet, flamenco, tap dance, Buddhist chants with Buddhist monks, as well as dancing the compositions of western classical composers.
In her interaction with Weaver Story, this extraordinary kathak vidyangana talks about how her love for Saree started at a very early age. Her mother wore a Saree, everyone in her mother’s family wore a saree. She reminisces about how they wore a Khadi saree with Zari border. When she was merely 15, her guru, Pt. Birju Maharaj told her, "saree pehen kar abhyaas kara kro." A long long time has passed after that and to her, the saree feels like a part of her body. She does her daily chores in Saree, teaches in Saree, goes out in saree and what not. She says she has seen no piece of clothing as pretty and graceful as a saree, and we agree with her on this.
The drapes of the Saree brings our cultural values to life. They speak volumes about our country India and every value it stands for. The skill, the craftsmanship and the work of the Indian weavers. Sarees stand as a living example of how weavers work, and how much effort they put into bringing out the exceptional work. A saree carries dignity, a poetic eloquence and emotion! It brings a message to all of us, an emotion to all of us, and it is on us to read it, carry it, and understand it.
