Swathi P Bharadwaj : Making Achievements Look Like Daily Chores

• 141
• 0

Winston Churchill, the late prime minister of England, once said, “Success is not final: failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that count,” and these words have been proven true since then. There have been several accomplishers that have been the ‘Jack of All Trades”, like Dr. Dre, the pioneer of West Coast Hip-Hop who also established Beats By Dre, one of the hottest selling earphones which was eventually sold to Apple for over a billion dollars. Another prominent example would be Audie Leon Murphy, a prominent WWII veteran under the American Army, who later accomplished even more as an actor and songwriter.

Swathi P Bharadwaj is one such ‘Jack Of All Trades’, as she’s a prominent dancer with expertise equivalent to that of the top masters in Bharatanatyam. She was born on the 18^th of October in 1998 and was brought up in Hassan by her father, M K Prakash, an official in the Judicial Department, and mother K R Anitha, a homemaker. In 2000, Swathi’s parents were witnessing a dance show, and inspired by the enthralling performances of the participants, decided to put a young Swathi through dance training. They initially approached a master but were unfortunately rejected due to the master’s preference for children of doctors and engineers.

Swathi’s parents did not give up on their pursuit of finding the teacher who could mold young Swathi into the excellent and freely-flowing dancer she is today, and soon they found their answer in Bangalore. Her journey soon began at the tender age of three, with Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Mohiniyattam, when most kids are merely beginning to learn about the world and their surroundings. She gave her first performance in 2001 and began to blossom, as her talents became more evident to people around her. She pursued, practiced, and attempted every major dance-related test approved by the Government of Karnataka with resounding success, and at the age of ten, accomplished a record very few, if not none, are capable of even attempting.

Ten-year-old Swathi performed for over four-and-a-half hours at Hyderabad, entering the Guinness Book of World Records. She was awarded and felicitated by the former Governor of Karnataka, Hansraj Bharadwaj. Most people would’ve halted their progress after accomplishing a top-tier achievement, but Swathi P Bharadwaj aims towards the sky because the sky is the limit. Soon enough, she stamped her name once again in the Guinness Book of World Records by being a part of the 2,850-member troupe to stage the largest Kuchipudi performance when she was studying in VIIIth standard.

Swathi has displayed 1,122 solo performances as of date, delivering each act and move with grace and substance, and moving the audience’s emotions while putting on each expression. Her achievements have been acknowledged by the Wonder Book of Records, and have befittingly earned her an honorary doctorate in the field of Bharatanatyam from the Universal Theological Open University in the year 2017, which she received from the Hon’ble Former Chief Minister and Former Governer, Dr. K Roshaiah.

Swathi P Bharadwaj has also been certified for her pursuit in the course of “Folk Dances of Karnataka” under Haveri Folk University. She noticed a lot of people had a major desire to pursue dance as their career, but their financial situation went heavily against it. To ensure no obstacle obstructs these people from following their passion, Swathi P Bharadwaj collaborated with Sri Natyabyravi Music and Dance School in Hassan since 2009.

Her initial days of teaching and performing were far from smooth sailing, as travelling frequently with minimal basic facilities on public transport would put immense pressure on the family and their health, with the added bundle of carrying heavy equipment everywhere. There were days when obtaining a program to perform was seemingly impossible, but Swathi and her family did not give up. These efforts have successfully and deservingly paid off, as today under Sri Natyabyravi Music and Dance School, she is successfully teaching and molding over 400 students across the globe to become dancers, allowing them to express themselves with perfection.

Swathi P Bharadwaj is currently residing in Bangalore with her parents and her newlywed husband, who is from a family of reputed classical singers. This has been fruitful, as her husband and in-laws are no less when it comes to encouraging Swathi and supporting her with her parents. She has completed her B.Com and is currently pursuing her LLB degree. She has also completed her Air Hostess training and is also practicing kalarippayattu, an Indian Martial Art with origins from Kerala and tabla.

Swathi P Bharadwaj advises young and upcoming performers to perform anywhere for any crowd, even if they are less in number, as in most huge venues, a majority of people are usually on their smartphones which leaves a small section of the audience truly indulging themselves in the performance. She also suggests parents not push their kids towards learning something because someone else does and allow kids to explore their career paths instead of sticking to only a select few.

Connect with Swathi P Bharadwaj : +91 97405 09416