Iskandar Malaysia Social Heroes Awards (IMSHA) winner and Suvarna Fine Arts’ founder, Dr. Ajith Bhaskar, has recently minted a Chinese-descent disciple in a Rangapravesham of Bharatanatyam at Afiniti Medini, Iskandar Puteri, Johor.
Lim Shao Xi, also known as Sreehari, a name given by his Master, Dr. Ajith, was lauded as a passionate dancer in pursuit of perfecting his art. A Johorean himself, Shao Xi, said he had always wanted to learn dance since he was young but was too occupied with his studies and co-curricular activities like piano, vocals, and drama.
After he graduated from Foon Yew High School, his Drama Society’s instructor, Chow Pei Foon of Johor Bahru Performing Art School; Chow Drama, introduced Shao Xi to Dr. Ajith. The training began in 2016 and after seven months, Shao Xi headed to Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University to study Western vocals.
Shao Xi continuously went into intense training with Dr. Ajith during the Chinese New Year holiday from 2016 until 2019, and even when the pandemic and lockdown hit the world from 2019 to 2022, Shao Xi was still determined, and learned via regular online classes.
As he completed his tertiary studies abroad and returned to Johor Bahru again in 2022 that is when he began to train for his Rangapravesham; a milestone where a student begins their endeavour to explore and experience the quintessential spirit of dance.
“I wanted to learn an art form that is connected to my Asian cultural background,” he said, when asked why he chose Bharatanatyam, that it has also enhanced his understanding of his artistic and academic journey.
On the night Shao Xi’s dream came true, Dr. Ajith himself joined the debut stage as the Nattuvangam vocalist along with Suganya Jegathesan Sharma on vocal, J.J Prathap Sharma in Mridangam, G. Manikantan on violin and Dr. Ghanavenothan Retnam on Flute.
The hall was overflowing with spectators made up of different ethnicities, majorly Indian and Chinese where the event was addressed in English and Mandarin by Lekshimi Devi Rajasegaran and Laura Siew Wanthing.
Shao Xi lived in his Sreehari persona on stage that night, greeting the line of performers, especially his Master, before seeking the audience’s blessings.
Sreehari made the stage his canvas to paint stories after stories with his skilled dance, making anyone’s first live Indian classical dance experience a spectacular one as well as inspiring those who have known and mastered the art form.
He did more than justice to the art that he worked hard for, that night. Sreehari seamlessly embodied every character that was given to him and relayed captivating stories through precise, energetic movements.
Gratitude is deeply ingrained in the teaching of this art. Shao Xi’s parents, Lim Kok Leng and Na Su Ing, were invited to the stage, given the upper ground to honour the Master, Dr. Ajhit, the orchestra, and Lim Shao Xi himself with a garland each in the middle of the event. Chow Pei Foon of Chow Drama Theatre, who led Shao Xi to Dr. Ajith was also invited on stage. It was even more meaningful that Dr. Ajith Bhaskar’s Master also appeared on stage, where he showed the utmost gratitude.
Chief Guest, Shri Shankar Kandasamy, Artistic Director of Temple of Fine Arts, and Guest of honour, Shrimanthi Shantha Ratii, Artistic Director of SRI – Shantha Ratii Initiatives Singapore, were invited to the stage later to address the unique debut, where both of them shared a similar message that the debut of Sreehari shows that dance knows no boundaries, and congratulated the embarkment of his new journey in dance after the performance.
Shao Xi appeared on stage, showing gratitude to everyone and his highest appreciation to Dr. Ajith Bhaskar before giving his speech in English and Mandarin, ending it in Malay with ‘Sekian, Terima Kasih.’
Dr. Ajith Bhaskar, with three decades of teaching experience under his belt, known as one of the most accomplished male Bharatanatyam dancers of his generation, said he welcomes people of all walks of life to learn the dance.
He wishes that with more people learning or having the knowledge of what Indian classical dance is, the representation of the Indian culture in the Malaysian media, especially in Johor, would be better instead of capturing stereotypes from the popular Bollywood films that did not mirror the Indians of Malaysia.
Suvarna Fine Arts is located at Nong Chik Riverside, No. 17, Level 2, Jalan Kolam Ayer 2, Kampung Mohd Amin, 80200 Johor Baru, Johor, and branches of its academy can be found all over Johor.
Shao Xi, or Sreehari’s Rangapravesham, could be found on YouTube under Entamizh Media’s channel.
Special thanks to Peggy Loh, the prolific author of Johor’s trilogy, My Johor Stories, for the tip on the special Rangapravesham.
