All Life Is Dance
by Priyadarshani

There is one person who is trying her best to understand the dance of the universe. She has been trained under stalwarts like Dr. Yamini Krishnamurti, Dr. Minati Mishra and others. Her forte is Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kathak. She has performed almost in every prominent place, and before an enthralled audience.

But her learning and performances haven't been for propagating her own name. Dancing for her is Sadhana and she practises and performs to experience the Divine - a mission to which she has dedicated her entire life. She specializes in the devotional aspect of Indian Classical Dance with the sole aim of reviving the ancient Temple-style of dancing.

Somashekhari's dedication to her Guru Swami Omkarananda, who inspired her into the great art of Indian Classical Dance, is outstanding and rare. With His blessings, Somaji established two Dance Schools which are recognized by Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad.

Numerous children have benefited from her high quality teaching. The great beauty lies in Somaji's capacity not only to train the children in this beautiful art but also to encourage them to practise the eternal values of Indian Vedic Culture. Somaji has given many performances in different functions like Special Functions of NRIs in New Delhi in the presence of VVIPs. In recent time, she performed in front of His Holiness the Shankaracharya of Shringeri and among very leading Saints of Himalayas in Hubli, Karnataka. Her performance earned her great remarks from the Shankaracharyaji. The leading newspapers put her photograph on the front page and declared that Somaji's outstanding performance was stealing the show of the entire celebration.

Somashekhari's love for Temple Dance is deep in her heart. She is meticulous in every aspect of the art, especially in the philosophy of the expression of the Mudras, which has made many people marvel at the quality of her performance of Indian Classical Dance.

Art lovers and critics have applauded her authentic depiction of moods, her grace and fabulous presentation of various dance forms. In 1992 her efforts in the cultural field earned her the prestigious Mahila Shiromani Award. Besides dance, her other great love is for Indian Classical Music. She received training in Karnatic Vocal Music, plays the Tambura and Veena. Somashekhari has an excellent talent in learning languages. Her way of speaking Hindi has earned her the highest remarks. She has deep knowledge in the Sanskrit language and is presently learning the Tamil language.