Sagnika Mukherjee-Fire, passion and penchant for dancing
By Mahadev Desai
Whether she is performing Lakshmi Vandana or a dance to a Dola
re Dola song or dancing on stage as Radha with her beloved
Krishna, Sagnika pours her heart out. Graced with beauty,
talent, zest, sense of humor and compassionate nature,
soft-spoken, genial multi-talented Sagnika, within just over a
year’s residence in Atlanta, has won the hearts of the Atlanta
community through her dancing prowess.
Sagnika was born and raised in a middle class family in Siliguri,
West Bengal. Siliguri is a vibrant cosmopolitan City known for
its tea, transport, tourism and timber. It is a fast developing
city with enviable growth potential.
Sagnika’s father, a singer and mother a Government employee
doted on their only daughter, nurtured her and fully supported
her in all her academic and extra-curricular activities.
Sagnika’s favorite subjects at school and college were English,
music and political science. From early age, she was fond of
dancing, singing and recitation. In fact, when she was just
three years old, she competed in a dance competition at Victoria
Memorial, Kolkata.She performed her dance while her mother
sang’Phole phole dhole dhole’and her dad played live harmonium
and stood 2nd in Group A.
Her parents were quick to spot her passion for dancing, so
enrolled her in a local dance academy. She began learning ‘Kathak’.
After four years, she switched to Bharatnatyam and trained
rigorously for nine years. Then she took ‘Odissi’lessons for six
years. During those years, she also experimented with ‘Rabindra
Nritya’;’Creative’; and ‘Folk dances’. In Atlanta, she has been
learning belly dancing at a downtown Belly dancing studio.
She graduated in English Honors from Siliguri College and also
became adept ‘Classical’;& ‘Creative ‘Dance performer, Dance
Teacher and an Event choreographer. She won many trophies in
dance competition at school level and she represented her school
in the ‘Inter School Dance Competition’ and stood 1st in 2004
and 2006.She blossomed into a self-assured and confident dancer
and participated in the Talent hunt show, organized by Tollywood
industry, named ‘Ekti Tarar Khonje’(Search of a Star).She won
all the stages of grueling auditions and represented Siliguri/North
Bengal in the Grand Finale of the show, held in Kolkata.
After graduating from College, she got married and with her
husband, left for Atlanta in June 2012.
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Sagnika lighting the lamp at an Ekal
Vidyalaya event |
After her arrival in Atlanta, she gave her riveting debut
performance as Radha in the dance-drama ‘Raas-Leela of
Krishna’,directed by Shankar Sengupta and hosted by Bengali
Association of GA(BAGA). Since then she has performed various
dances at events organized by IACA.,Brahmin Samaj of GA;Ekal
Vidyalaya; APAC;VHPA;Punjabi Association of Greater Atlanta,
Bangladeshi Puja Association,etc.
Sagnika is not merely a dancer. She is a good singer too! She
has sung Rabindra Sangeet and Bengali folk on stage. She is
articulate in English, Bengali and Hindi and enjoys reading,
watching Bollywood and Hollywood movies, and lives cultural
events. Her favorite authors are Rabindranath Tagore,Satyajit
Ray and Khaled Hosseini. Her favorite movies are Bollywood
movies’Devdas’;Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’;Memories in March;
Italian romantic drama .Malena’; and highly popular musical
‘Mamma Mia’.
She also loves to travel when she can. In India, she has been
toDarjeeling,KurseongKalimpong,Delo,Doars,Sikkim and its largest
city Gangtok.She has also travelled to Bhutan and Hongkong.
She enjoys cooking when she finds time. And she is a diehard fan
of Indian street-foods like Pani-puri;Bhelpuri;Samosas, etc.
Sagnika volunteers with Ekal Vidyalaya and is also associated
with Sivananda Natural Foods Market founded in 1974,to sell
organic foods, herbs, spices, and specialty health and wellness
products.
Sagnika has good impressions about Atlanta. She commented,” The
major problem I used to face in India was that of Eve teasing on
the roads. Unfortunately the problem still persists in some
cities like Delhi and Mumbai. But here I can walk safe and feel
free and secure at almost any time.USA is a land of opportunity
and I feel happy to be here. Atlanta is a vibrant city but less
hectic than say New York or Chicago. In winter thankfully we do
not have snow or ice. People are friendly here. I have met many
people here who have helped and supported me.”
When asked who had inspired her most and who her role model was,
Sagnika mentioned Aishwarya Rai. She is a great dancer. I loved
her dance performances in Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and
Bunty or Babli.I am very inspired by her style and have tried to
incorporate some of that in my dance performances.
Sagnika is already making waves in Atlanta’s world of dance and
music. She quotes Tagore, “Let your life lightly dance on the
edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” She believes that
dance is an exciting and ever evolving art form and one must
strive to push the boundaries with innovative and imaginative
dance techniques and choreography. The fire to excel in dancing
and to help humanitarian causes through her art burns brightly
in Sagnika.
Watch her journey unfold!
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