Asha Ramesh (vocals)

Asha Ramesh is a refined Carnatic vocalist, an able and experienced singer for Bharatanatyam and Kathak dance, and also an accomplished Hindustani bhajan singer. While her early tutelage was in Jamshedpur, Asha’s principal gurus were the world-renowned maestro Sangita Kalanidhi D.K.Jayaraman and Nanganallur V.Ramanathan. She has won a number of awards from Tamil Isai Sangam, All India Radio, and Madras University; in 1997, she was awarded the title Gana Kala Bhushani by the Sankarabharanam Trust of Madras. She has performed all over India, the U.S.A. and Canada, both as a soloist and as accompanist for dance, and had a very successful solo concert tour of Europe in the fall of 1995. Since 1997, Asha has taught Carnatic music theory and practice at the Music Department of the University of California at Berkeley. She has composed the music for a documentary film “The Visitor” in 1997. A brilliant composer, Asha has composed the music for all of Abhinaya’s new productions since 1993, the most notable being the music for the production, Gandhi-the Mahatma (1995), and The Ramayana (1997).

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Shanthi Narayanan (violin)

Shanthi Narayanan trained under A. Anantharama Bhagavathar at Guruguha Gana Vidyalaya in Calcutta. She has accompanied several leading artists and given performances both in India and Bahrein. A gifted violinist, she has played for several dance and music concerts in the Bay Area, where she currently teaches violin. She has performed for virtually all Abhinaya arangetrams and productions since 1990. She works as a Communications Specialist at National Semiconductor.

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N. Narayanan (mridangam and kanjira)

N. Narayanan trained under his father P.V.Natarajan as well as P.S.Parameshwaran in Bombay. He has accompanied several leading musicians and has won awards for his performances in India and Bahrein. He conducts mridangam classes in the Bay Area and also plays the harmonium. He accompanies his father in the presentation of devotional songs at various festivals in the Bay Area. Along with his wife, Shanthi, Narayanan has played for all Abhinaya arangetrams and productions since 1990.

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Raja Sivamani (veena)

Raja Sivamani trained under Srikanth Chary for over ten years and has been performing for dance concerts since 2000. He has also been rendering solo veena concerts in the Bay Area and in other U.S. cities. He is currently a medical student at University of California, Davis.

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Raghavan Manian (flute)

Ragavan Manian is self-taught on the Hindustani woodwind (bansuri). A gifted and popular Carnatic vocalist, he has also won wide appreciation for his multi-instrumental skills. He derives the inspiration to explore varied musical domains from the genius of his Guru Dr. Balamurali Krishna. Ragavan plays bansuri as a solo artist and occasionally as an accompanist for studio recordings, light music concerts and dance recitals.

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Ravi Gutala (tabla)

Ravi Gutala has trained in Hyderabad and under Pandit Swapan Chowdhuri at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music in San Raphael. He has accompanied many eminent visiting artists and toured the US. Ravi has played in many of Abhinaya’s productions and toured with the company to Portland and other cities. Ravi Gutala (tabla) has trained in Hyderabad and under Swapan Chowdhuri in the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Raphael. He has accompanied many eminent visiting artists such as Pandit Jasraj, Smt. Lakshmi Shankar, Dr. L.Subramaniam, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Ms Shweta Jhaveri etc., and has also given concerts in various cities of the US. He has several recordings to his credit and also teaches tabla in the Bay Area.

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Mythili Kumar, Artistic Director (nattuvangam - cymbals)

The guru or teacher performs nattuvangam by conducting the orchestra and playing the small cymbals that sound out the detailed rhythm of the feet. Mythili Kumar conducts the recital for Abhinaya Dance Company productions as well as for the student arangetrams.

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Rasika Kumar (nattuvangam)

Rasika Kumar is the daughter of Mythili Kumar and has been her student since 1987. She has performed in many of Abhinaya Dance Company’s productions, including Vande Mataram – Mother I bow to thee in 1997. Since her arangetram in 1996, Rasika has toured with Abhinaya and has performed nattuvangam as well. Rasika is a graduate of the Massachusetts Insitute of Technology, where she was the president of Natya – M.I.T’s classical dance club.

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Malavika Kumar (nattuvangam)

Malavika Kumar is the daughter of Mythili Kumar and has been her student since 1990. She has performed in many of Abhinaya Dance Company’s productions in the Bay Area since 1992, as well as in India, Lansing, Chicago, and Portland. She also participated with her mother and sister in Vande Mataram – Mother I bow to thee. She performed her arangetram in July 1998 and has performed nattuvangum for her mother in recent performances, including the recent Yuva festival in Los Angeles.

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Jayanthi Umesh (vocal)

Smt. Jayanthi Umesh has been trained in music since 1969. Her guru is Vidushi Sugandha Raman, a well-known exponent of classical Indian music. Smt. Jayanthi passed the Vidwath Examination in carnatic music with second rank fro the State of Karnataka. She has received additional training from Smt. Suguna Varadachari and through music workshops conducted by Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna and R. K. Srikantan. She received the Best Musician Award from Bangalore Gayana Samaja in 1984. She performed as an invited artist at the Annamacharya Music Festival at Tirupathi. She is on the panel of musicians of All India Radio, Bangalore Since 1983 and has also performed on Bangalore Doordarshan. She has lived in the SF Bay Area since 1993 teaching music and performing in music concerts including those sponsored by SIFA and Hindu Temples at Sunnyvale, Livermore and Malibu. She also studies with Bay Area’s well known musician, Smt. Asha Ramesh, to further her musical interests.

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