06-29-2023 Howard Magazine - Flipbook - Page 50
culture.”
For Mitra, director of engineering for
the Maryland Transportation Authority,
the moonlighting has complemented
her life.
“Everyone has something on the side
that they pursue,” she said. “It’s part of
my journey and my growth as a person
— and it keeps me close to my own
roots, as well.”
A passion and a mission
Six years ago, Marahuri
Subramaniam seemed to have it all:
home, health, family and a prominent
job as an architect. Yet something was
missing. Dance wanted back in her life.
Growing up in Bombay, of musical
parents, Subramaniam favored
classical Indian dances with names like
Bharatanatyam — “pure joy,” she called
it. But her move here, a career and her
children put her hobby on hold for a
spell. Finally, when the twins turned 2,
she acquiesced.
It’s now or never, she thought. So
Subramaniam set up a studio in her
Ellicott City home and began plying
her craft. Now 25 students, mostly ages
5 to 17, gather there evenings to learn
the rhythms, moves and intrinsic spirit
of a formal dance style once staged for
Indian kings of yore.
Her passion gives her great pleasure.
“I can be absolutely tired when
I get home from work, but it takes
me less than five minutes to change
and start sharing that knowledge of
Indian culture,” said Subramaniam,
43. “Classical dance takes a great
commitment; for two years, you learn
basic steps, like a little child learning
ABCs, and that can get very tiring. The
dance follows a strict geometry and has
many different speeds, starting slow and
ending fast. It’s all about stamina, and
holding [one’s endurance] to the end.”
She and her students have staged
productions at Shriver Hall, on the
Johns Hopkins University campus
in Baltimore”, and at Indian temples
throughout Maryland.
What do her charges enjoy most?
The brilliantly colored silks and saris,
elaborate costume jewelry and makeup;
the occasional props, like masks and
sticks that give dance a taste of the
martial arts; and the mythical ancestral
storylines that their movements and
expressions portray, like rhythmic
mimes.
“There’s no talking but a lot of
50
foot-banging, and the kids enjoy it,”
Subramaniam said.
Flutes, violins and percussion
instruments magnify the oft-frenzied
twirls and climactic beats and make
performances “an absolute joy for the
eyes and ears, if you are a dance lover.”
| Summer 2023 | howardmagazine.com
Marahuri Subramaniam adjusts the
positioning of the arms for her son,
Ashwin Iyer, 8, posing with his twin sister
Anagha, bottom, and Nitya Yanjarlapati, 9.
Subramaniam grew up in Bombay, India.
PHOTO BY AMY DAVIS