Priyamvadha Murali

🪔 About

Priyamvadha Murali is a distinguished Indian classical dancer and a torchbearer of the Bhagavata Mela tradition. She is the daughter and disciple of the renowned Bhagavata Mela exponent, Guru Melattur Late S Natarajan, and a senior disciple of Guru Chitra Visweswaran. Based in Bangalore, India, Priyamvadha Murali currently serves as the director of the Bhagavata Mela Vidyalaya at Melattur, an institution conceptualized by her father, Guru S Natarajan. The Vidyalaya is a significant socio-cultural school in the surrounding hamlets, providing free classical dance education to approximately 200 children in and around the villages of Melattur, Thiruvaiyaru, and Thirumanoor. Her family lineage traces back to Bhagavatas who have upheld a unique five-hundred-year-old theatre tradition, and she was initiated into the oral tradition of Bhagavata Mela. Priyamvadha Murali firmly believes that dramaturgy represents the highest offering and that art forms possess the power to elevate the human spirit. She views traditional narrative texts not merely as spectacles but as a pedagogy designed to instill righteous virtues. She continues her father's legacy by connecting rural students to their cultural roots through dance and celebrates his dying wish as an aradhana during Navarathri, with her students frequently performing in temples.