VARADARĀJAM UPĀSMAHE | Happy Birthday Harinie Akka

✨VARADARĀJAM UPĀSMAHE✨
Happiiee Birthdaayy to dearest Harinie akka! ♥️

Varadar! What a beautiful experience it is to watch Akka’s choreographies live on stage! The way she really takes us through the Kanchi Perumal temple on various days of the Brahmotsavam is so creative and realistic that you literally go to Kanchi and come back. ♥️🙏🏻

This painting is thematically based on Akka’s production, “Varadarajam Upasmahe”. In the painting’s centre stands Varadaraja Perumal, the beautiful Utsava Murthy which is elaborately decked up with rich clothing and jewellery on each day of the 10 day long festival. Around Him are six of my most favourite parts from the production. It was really hard to ‘choose’ a favourite part, because every part of every item was just so perfectly done, but these ones are really goosebumpy for me. ✨

This painting is a unique one in many ways. First of all, this was done in 2 days, and I sat for almost 40+ hours continuously in one place (include one whole night) and painted this in order to gift Akka on her birthday today. Secondly, I’ve never drawn so many different versions of the same person on a single page before. It was quite challenging to draw each pose of Akka, and though most of them didn’t turn out to look perfectly like her, the experience was worth it. Akka’s birthdays are always special to me. I always try something which I haven’t done before, which makes me challenge myself to take an enthusiastic jump to start my year. 💙

Varadarajam Upasmahe is Harinie Akka’s masterpiece production. They say the first one is always special. Varadar is now not only special to Akka alone, she’s ensured that His charms now reach us too. 💙

Akka is the sweetest person you could ever meet. The place ‘dance’ holds in her life and the way she embraces her passion and experiments her thoughts and feelings through dance is something which all of us, as her juniors, students and admirers, marvel at. Akka is my greatest inspiration and motivation to work on improving myself, not just as a dancer, but also as a person. Thank you Akka, thank you Sheela Ma’am and Shobha Ma’am for always making us strive for the best.

Happy Birthday once again!❤️