Murari Sharan Gupta is a Kathak dancer and the founder of Samam- Center for Movement and Dance, a dance school. His motivation was to share his love and knowledge of the dance form with others around the city.
As a young child, he was inspired by his elder brother, Raghaw Sah, an accomplished Kathak artiste. "The way he was able to transport his audience to a different realm was what motivated me in the first place. He took me under his wings and I started learning Kathak under his guidance from the age of 8. Thus I learnt the basics of Kathak from my brother. When I was around 15, I came under the tutelage of Birju Maharaj whom I fondly call as Maharajji," he shares.
The dance school doubles up as an NGO that works towards imparting dance and music education to children from underprivileged communities. To this end they organise workshops in villages in and around Bangalore, Kolar, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. "We want to reach out as many children as possible and train them to get employed as dancers, teachers and choreographers," he explains.
There is a lack of appreciation and understanding of the country’s culture heritage, which he attributes to the influence of Bollywood music and other international dance forms like
contemporary dance and belly dance. "More parents are sending their children to learn these
instead of traditional dance and music forms. But, our classical forms also teach us values and the richness of our country’s culture and heritage," he says.