Daily Inspiration: Meet Srimathy Mohan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Srimathy Mohan.

Hi Srimathy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Growing up in India, I learned the classical dance form Bharatanatyam from my guru Padmashree awardee Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy from 1977 until 1987, when I got married and moved to the United States. I pursued my education over the next eleven years. I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Alabama, then got my Master’s in Operations Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed my Ph. D. in Operations Research at The University of Montreal. My daughters were born in 1995 and 1998. In 1998, we moved to Phoenix. In 1999, I started working at Arizona State University. I am currently an associate professor of Supply Chain Management at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

During all this, I kept up with my dance practice and performed whenever I had an opportunity. In May 2000, I started my dance institution, Silambam Phoenix, with the blessings of my guru. My older daughter was my first student. Over the past 22 years, Silambam Phoenix has grown to be an important cultural institution in the greater Phoenix area. We are a registered non-profit organization. Silambam has produced and presented more than 10 full-length original productions. Currently, we have approximately 70 students at Silambam Phoenix. We have presented 18 students in their debut solo presentations (This is called an Arangetram or Rangapravesham and is an important milestone in a student’s Bharatanatyam journey). Fourteen additional students are working on their debut solo presentations and Silambam Phoenix will be presenting these students over the next 18 months.

Silambam Phoenix believes in giving back to society and most of our productions are fundraisers for social causes.

Over the past 20 years, we have donated approximately $200,000 to charities around the world.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I started a dance school, technology was not as advanced as it is today. It was not the age of Zoom and FaceTime to facilitate communication with my guru for advice and insight on how to teach. I did talk to her when I had questions. One advantage I had was that other students of my guru had also started their own dance institutions (interestingly, all schools started by my guru’s students are named Silambam) and I could go back to this Silambam sisterhood for advice as well.

Juggling my time between a full-time job at Arizona State University, my dance school, and my family was an interesting challenge. Thanks to the support from my husband and my family (visiting parents and in-laws were frequently there to help), it has been possible.

Another challenge that I face and handle was around the time we planned dance productions. The music for the productions, costumes, and accessories are very unique. Over time, I developed my core musicians and established an India coordinator to help with our costumes and accessories.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a professional Bharatanatyam (South Indian classical dance form) dancer and an associate professor of Supply chain Management at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Specialization: I teach the Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam and our mission at Silambam Phoenix is the promotion and development of the arts, by imparting artistic education and promoting talent in the performing arts. Silambam borrows all of its teaching methods and principles from the parent school, Shree Bharatalaya, Chennai. Bharatalaya was founded by my Guru, Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy, and has successfully molded several beautiful dancers and individuals. I try to provide a similar environment to nourish and nurture the Silambam kids and help them develop into energetic artists with a deep-rooted sense of our tradition or pātāntharam, and an appreciation of arts. In addition, holistic training also focuses on developing cultured individuals who can face real-life situations gracefully. I strongly believe that the structured learning and discipline that the children go through help develop an understanding and appreciation of structured problem-solving. At the same time, the “art training” helps them think outside the box and develop innovative solutions. I constantly adapt concepts from my academic training and work to inform and fine-tune my artistic teaching methods.

Known for: Silambam Phoenix is known for its high-quality dance productions and the quality of Silambam-trained dancers. Many local organizations have benefited from our fundraising and appreciate our effort to work with them. Some of the local organizations we have donated to include Society St. Vincent de Paul, Center for Rare Childhood Disorders, Ryan House, Arizona South Asians of Safe Families, and Wish Foundation.

Most proud of: Silambam also believes in giving back to the community. Mahatma Gandhi said ‘The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. For the Silambam dancers, Bharatanatyam provides a medium to satisfy the artists in us, and at the same time, it is a gift and blessing that we can utilize to improve the lives of others. We have used our productions as an opportunity to raise funds for several social causes. I have been fortunate to have a group of very enthusiastic Silambam parents who not only agree with the basic principles of Silambam instruction but also work towards providing the same message at home. Together, we are proud to help raise responsible artists and citizens for a better tomorrow.

Set apart from others: I strongly feel that my academic life and training have provided me with a unique set of skills to run my non-profit organization. It has also helped me develop my project management skills. This comes in handy when we put together productions and festivals. Our most recent was Vimshathi Vaibhava, a two-day celebration of our twenty-second anniversary. This was held on March 25th and 26th, 2022. The first day involved a stage rehearsal with 71 dancers in the morning, getting all of them ready for a late afternoon show for a full house at the Mesa arts center and coming back the next day for a new product that I had put together with my dancer friend and colleague from India. The festival required several months of rehearsals, costume design, stage, and set design, lighting, and several other aspects that had to be completed during a pandemic. We practice extreme project management with several fallback options and constantly change our course of action to adapt to changing safety requirements.

Our dance institution is unique in its philanthropic goals and that definitely sets us apart. We have always donated 100% of the funds raised and use our own funds to stage our productions.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
There are two things that I consider extremely important and that make me happy. These are teaching and giving back to society.

Both as an artist and as a faculty member at Arizona State University, teaching brings me the greatest joy. The dance form that I teach, Bharatanatyam, is very intense and the beginning stages can be difficult to master. When a beginner understands the basic positions and is able to complete the first building block after several months of trial and guided practice, I feel s great sense of achievement, and makes me very happy. This continues every step of the way as the child progresses through the several stages and marches towards learning complete pieces. I feel a very similar sense of pride and achievement when my students at the University successfully complete their first mathematical model in my supply chain analytics course.

Giving back to society is another thing that makes me very happy. I volunteer about 12 hours of time every week to teach dance. This volunteer time increases severalfold when we are working on productions and shows. Most of our shows are fundraisers for causes that are dear to us – education, children’s health, women’s empowerment, artists’ financial stability, and minimizing hunger and poverty. Over the past two decades, we have raised and donated more than $200,000 to various charities around the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.silambamphoenix.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silambamphx/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/silambam.phoenix.5
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SilambamPhoenix

Image Credits
Ram Dharmarajan and Krishnendu Nair