Our story of Know Your Roots starts in the sacred city of Kanchi, near Chennai, India.
Vani and I were visiting the Kanchi Matham to receive the darshan of Sri Sri Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Swami, the main seer of the Matham. We were sitting in the mandapam, the hall, with our friend Kompella Sarma, awaiting the arrival of Swami.
We were deep in conversation about the magnificence of Indian arts, culture, tradition and Sanatana Dharma, and about how important it is for our young people, especially NRIs, to fully recognise the rich and powerful heritage they come from, no matter where in the world they are today. We shared a vision: a program called Know Your Roots that would organise trips for NRIs to visit India and learn about its history, science, mathematics, the Vedas, Ayurveda, astronomy and archaeology. We were so engrossed that we barely noticed when we were told Swami varu was arriving.
We stood, and there he was, walking towards us with a divine smile. A hundred people were gathered around when Swami varu asked, in our mother tongue Telugu, "where is the couple from America who do SivaPadam?"
Where is the couple from America who do SivaPadam?
SivaPadam — a thousand songs for Lord Shiva
To understand that question, we need to go back a few years. Our guru is Bramhasri Dr. Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma garu, whom we consider a combined incarnation of Jagadguru Adi Shankara and Swami Vivekananda: for his infinite wisdom of the Vedas and scriptures, and for his immense love for Sanatana Dharma and for India. Our guru wrote over a thousand lyrical poems on Lord Shiva, in Telugu and some in Sanskrit, under the name SivaPadam.
Vani, deeply inspired by their essence, began organising dance performances set to SivaPadam compositions. Dance gurus around the world were mesmerised by these songs, and the miraculous part is that more than three-quarters of them do not speak or understand Telugu or Sanskrit. Ravi, who loves to sing, learned over a hundred SivaPadams by heart. Together we staged many SivaPadam shows, mostly in California.
The blessing — back in Kanchi
During that visit to India in December 2017, Vani had organised a SivaPadam performance tour in Vijayawada and Hyderabad with thirty-five NRI dancers. For reasons only Lord Shiva knows, she sent an invitation to Swami varu. He sent his blessings and prasadam to one of the Hyderabad shows through our friend Sarma garu, with a message: that Vani and I should visit Kanchi.
So here was Swami varu, looking for us. He said, in Telugu:
You are mesmerising the world with Lord Shiva, with SivaPadam.
He blessed us with a smile we both remember vividly even today. We were elated, and felt the divine energy to continue our journey. Later, our friend narrated our vision of Know Your Roots to Swami varu, who was so happy with it that he gave the vision its Sanskrit name.
धर्ममूलम्
Dharma Moolam · the root of dharma.
With that name, given by the seer of the Kanchi Matham, Know Your Roots was born.
The years since — magical years
The next four years were magical. Vani organised SivaPadam performances in the USA, Singapore, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. She formed a SivaPadam Global Team and held global singing competitions in 2021 and 2022 with participants from over fourteen countries. During the pandemic, she ran a fully online show with dancers from Australia, Singapore, Russia, India, the Middle East, the UK and the USA.
She conceptualised and produced the Jyotirlingam album with her friend Smt. Sakunthala Kovvuri, set to SivaPadams written by our guru, with music composed by Violin Vidwan Anuradha Sridhar and her legendary mother, Violin Vidwan Smt. Srimathi Brahmanandam. In July 2021, Vani produced a dance production with Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Andhranatyam, Odissi, Kathak, Mohiniattam and Manipuri dancers, bringing alive the glory of the twelve Jyotirlingams.
In July 2022, she produced Kashi Samdarsanam, a dance production of SivaPadams depicting the stories and divinity of Varanasi. That same month, our guru and the author of SivaPadam himself, Bramhasri Dr. Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma garu, awarded Vani the title SivaPadaamkita, one who has dedicated her life to SivaPadam.
More SivaPadam projects are underway, and there is one story still to tell: why we named this vision Know Your Roots. That one is coming soon.