Always do something that makes you happy.
Always do something that makes you happy.
Sree Veena Mani is a Kuchipudi dancer and journalist currently living in Bangalore.
Sree Veena identifies herself as a true Indian as her life has been influenced by various cultures. She says she was born in Palakkad and brought up in Delhi. She practices Kuchipudi which is a classical dance form of Andhra Pradesh and is currently living in Bangalore. Her husband is from Kolkata and belongs to a completely different culture.
Talking about her family, Sree Veena says that all her family members were engaged in some form of art and literature and this inspired to learn dance. She remembers while living in Chennai she was influenced by her neighbor aunt who used to teach Kuchipudi and she started going to her classes. She developed interest in the dance form. Later on when she shifted to Delhi with her family she wanted to learn Vempati Chinna Satyam style of Kuchipudi dance and in the search of a master, she met her first guru Shrimati Sita Nagjyoti. She says she has learned professionalism from her guru.
When asked about her role models, Sree Veena says she feels extremely blessed to have such a supportive family. She says her family has been her biggest inspiration, especially her mother who is a retired officer from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and her husband who had always supported her in whatever path she chose to walk upon.
Sharing about her mistakes Sree Veena says in the early phase of her career she had been a reactive person but slowly she learned how to handle different situations that came into her life and made her own way. She also says that dancing is not just a way of earning to her but is a passion that she wants to follow throughout her life. She feels satisfied in teaching the dance form to the underprivileged students and contributing to society in her own way.
In her free time, Sree Veena likes to watch dance videos for educational purposes and performing dance is a kind of relaxing activity to her.
Her life mantra is that whatever you do, do it with utmost focus and passion.