By Manisha Gawade

Samaya Chauhan a young sixteen year old Kuchipudi dancer studying in class twelfth recently performed her rangapravesham recently (a performance done at the end of years of dance training which now makes her ready to perform professionally) at the Kamani auditorium in New Delhi. A disciple of the Padma Bhushan awardees Guru Raja and Radha Reddy and Guru Kaushalya Reddy. Born of an illustrious family, owners of the Amity group of companies- her parents and grandparents encouraged her to pursue her deep dedication and love for dance.

A Peep into Samaya’s Thoughts

Samaya gave us some insights into her experience and said,” Kuchipudi brought about a profound transforming journey for me. Under the watchful eyes of my strict gurus, I have been shaped like clay in a potter’s hands, moulded into a stronger and more resilient individual. Each movement, each performance, has been a brushstroke on the canvas of my life, painting vivid colours of discipline, grace, and passion. The struggle to balance academics and rigorous dance training felt like walking a tightrope, where one misstep could lead to a fall. Late nights were often spent with textbooks open, the rhythm of my dance echoing in my mind as I tried to find harmony between my studies and art. Yet, this dual commitment became my greatest teacher, instilling in me the values of time management and perseverance.”

Samaya added, “I danced and that discovered the beauty of Kuchipudi and also the strength within myself. The internal changes I have undergone going through challenges and embracing the art has enriched my spirit. Each performance is not just a display of skill but a celebration of my journey, a testament to the dedication and love I have for this beautiful dance form.”

Her Manoeuvres from NASA to Formula One

and More

Samaya has been a high achiever at the same time a kind hearted and vibrant girl who is also a brilliant and hard working student. Apart from her stellar academic record throughout, she has many accolades to her name, such as winning more than 30 best delegate awards in Model United Nations, including at Oxford and Cambridge. She was part of the winning team in the ‘NASA Space Settlement Design Competition’ at the Global Level in the US, as well as part of the team in the ‘Formula One in Schools’ competition at the global round at Singapore, winning best project management award. At the World Scholars Cup global final round at Yale University, she won 8 gold medals. She has interned at Google working on AI policy.

Always deeply committed to helping others and having an impact in society, Samaya has co-founded an NGO called ‘Dance with Dil’ in which they are working with the underprivileged, children with development disabilities and the elderly to spread happiness and healing through dance. She is also Founder of Plan Y the ‘Policy and Leadership Action Network for Youth’ in which she is bringing together young minds to suggest policy intervention on issues like youth mental health, climate change and girl child education.

Gurus Radha Radha and Kaushalya Reddy 

Her internationally renowned Guru Raja Reddy ji said, “Samaya, started to learn Kuchipudi dance under us at the age of seven. She has been learning and practicing Kuchipudi for the last nine years.” He add that,” Our next generations should know the greatness of our Bharatiya Sampradayam and embrace our cultures. Our is known as the Vishwa Guru because of its Natya Sampradayam, our country is known as Prachi Sudha (the nectar of the East) because of its Natyam. Bharat is one of the only countries whose present is not delinked from its past. Our coming generations should know the importance of the glorious traditions of dance which are rooted so deeply into our Bharath.”

When asked about his feeling and emotions to see her perform on stage during her  Rangapravesham he said that he was very happily surprised us by performing without any mistakes and she became a Nayika of Natyam throughout her performance.

Guru Raja ji observed that Samaya’s personality improved while she was learning dance. He spotted that the way she spoke improved, she adjusted her voice and dhrishti (eye movements) to match the words and expressions as well as the use hand gestures to conveyed their meaning more effectively.

She practiced rigorously for three months Rangapravesham, to be able to perform as close as close to perfection as possible . Her guru said proudly, “she became a Nayika of Natyam throughout her performance.”

Perspective of her Luminary Parents

Samaya not only is an inspiration to the generation next for bridging the gap seamlessly between the traditions and modernity but also to her father as well. Her father, Mr. Aseem Chauhan- the Chancellor of Amity University, President of Incubator and CEO of Amity Capital ventures said, “Performing Arts is an important aspect of our Indian culture. As we have varied programmes in our college in multiple fields but performing arts was missing. Our Founder-Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, has always believed in the sciences while supporting the arts and inspiring us. It was important to fill this gap. Samaya has always been an inspiration, so that we can continue supporting the arts and we added the course for performing arts in our college too.

We do our bit for the placements of these trained professionals by the end of the programme who are ready for teaching both at the school level or higher level. There have been students who are part of music and formed their bands and troupes. Some can go on to sing professionally as live musicians for concerts as well. Classical Dance has been an integral part of Samaya’s life. We being in education understand and value handwork and discipline, which has become a natural phenomenon in Samaya’s life. We are very grateful to her Gurus Raja Radha Reddy and Smt. Kaushalya Reddy ji to give time and personally teach, like they do for all their students. The dedication to their institute Natya Tarangini and passion for the arts is irreplaceable. May she continue her passion for Dance and spread our culture throughout the world.”

Samaya’s mother- Divya Chauhan, is a staunch believer in the arts and with her own experience of learning Odissi decided to introduce this beautiful dance form of Kuchipudi at the age of seven. She noticed that Samaya was a very self-driven child and her quest for perfection was very high. Through dance she inculcated discipline and concentration which in turn helped her a lot in her academic world. She felt that dance gave her physical stamina as well. She also felt that it is important to introduce a child to an art form and introduce them to our own culture at a young age for them to understand and explore further. It is interesting to note how samaya studies physics, Maths and psychology in school and might go to pursue a degree in international relations later and yet her quest for the classical dance form is uncanny.