SOUTH AFRICA, January 25, 2014 (Herald Live): For the Ganeshan family from Felicity Avenue in Westering, staying true to one’s roots is just as important as family. At first glance the family look like any normal family, but behind the scenes are talented dancers and a drummer, and a husband and father that supports his family no matter what.
Kalyani and Siva, who is originally from Mauritius, met some 20 years ago and have been married for the last 18. It is not surprising that Siva is fluent in Tamil, French and Creole. “We were introduced by one of my dance students,” explained Kalyani who has been teaching Indian traditional folk dancing since 1986 after doing a dance course in Cape Town.
In 1991 she became the first person from the Eastern Cape to have an arangtram – a graduation course presentation, and then started teaching Indian classical and Bharata Natyam. The couple have two children. Jayshree, 16, has followed her mom’s dance steps while brother Yuven, 14, is learning the Indian classical drum – mridangam. Kalyani said her son is the only person in the city learning the mridangam at the moment because no one offers classes here.