Doctor Arrabbe talks to us about her journey.

Arrabbe, commonly known as Eshitha, took the time out to tell us all about her achievements as a successful singer, dancer and a doctor! We were thrilled to speak with her. Here’s what she had to say.

Where were you born and what was your childhood like?

I was born in London. My parents still live there but they sent me and my siblings to India when we were young. They wanted us to adapt to the Indian Culture and I am quite happy with their decision.

Where did you study?

I was schooled in Chennai. I completed my MBBS in Ukraine, Fellowship in Aesthetic Medicine from Delhi and a Masters degree in Healthcare Management from the University of Surrey, UK.

How did you first discover your love for dance?

It was actually my mom who noticed my passion for dance. This was when I was five years old. I started training with Dr. Padma Subramaniam and then by Smt. Nartaki Natraj who has guided me through the Tanjore Bharatanatyam style.

Tell us more about your Guru, Nartaki Natraj.

I was quite a playful kid. Even though I could dance a lot of my teachers felt that I was a bit distracted. I had switch four to five trainers before I got to my Guru, Nartaki Natraj. Within moments of seeing me perform a few steps she confidently said that dancing was my calling and that I was meant to be on stage. She took up full responsibility for me, including my arangetram.

Dr. Narthaki Natraj is known famously as a disciple of Shri Kittappa Pillai of Tanjore, a descendant of the Tanjore quartet brothers who is considered to be the fathers of Bharatnatyam.

She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar from the President of India and the outstanding category empanelled artist at ICCR. She had carved a niche for herself in the field.

What are your achievements in dance?

As far as Chennai is concerned I’ve performed at many shows, almost all of them! Mylapore Fine Arts, Karthik Fine Arts, Kabaleeshwar Kovil, Chidambaram, and so on. I’ve performed in and around Tamil Nadu. I am just starting out on an International level. I recently performed at a show in London.

Tell us a bit about your talent in singing! How did that begin?

A lot of people at home considered me to be a bathroom singer. I thought the same of myself too. But I just wanted to explore this talent a little bit more. I started off with Carnatic singing. Later, I was interested in creating at least one song just for my personal joy. I worked on the lyrics with the friend and we were quite happy with the outcome. This first single track was ‘nee naan kadhal’ was recorded in Chennai and the video was shot in London with my brother’s help. He is a cinematographer. We received great feedback for this track and based on this I continued to work on other tracks as well.

You are a model as well. Tell us more about that.

I’ve just started accepting offers for modelling. I am not always open to offers. I pick and choose who I want to work with, and I am more comfortable working with good friends. I mostly model for sarees and jewellery.

Being such a multi-talented artist, did you ever get an opportunity to be in a movie?

Yes, I did. However, I prefer to just work on my interests at this point. I didn’t want to get into the world of movies at that point.I didn’t want to distract myself. I have goals to achieve when it comes to my dancing or singing career and I want to make sure I reach them without fail. For example, I want to start up a dance school. I also want to form a trust for underprivileged children who have an interest in dance and music.

What was the proudest moment for you in your dancing career?

It’s an ironic story. The person who initially had no faith in me as a dancer when I was a child turned out to be my Arangetram Chief Guest. They had changed their mind at this point and gave me full credit for my hard work. This was the biggest compliment for me.

She has been an inspiration for many who seek to polish their talents while pursuing their careers at the same time. We wish Eshitha the very best for her future endeavours. We hope to see her soon performing on stages across India and the International realm as well!