Sandhya Manoj

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Sandhya Manoj is a Malaysian Odissi dancer, dance teacher, and yoga instructor who gained fame after contesting the reality TV show Bigg Boss Malayalam 3 (2021), which premiered on Asianet.She spent her childhood growing up in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. After completing her schooling in Saudi Arabia, she came to India to pursue her graduation. Sandhya Manoj as a child.Growing up in Kuwait, she began learning Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam under her mentor Parvathy Narayana Swamy at the age of five. Soon, she began performing on stage in Kuwait. She performed her first Dashavatar Paalkadal Allaimelle in Bharatanatyam; it was taught by her guru Parvathy. Sandhya Manoj with her mentor Parvathy Narayana Swamy.Her family was against her idea of making dance a career because they never thought of dance as a potential career. According to her, If I had half the courage as now I would have reacted as Oh Gosh, I come with such a culture less background family, who find it shame to stand and embrace and stand for the exposure of our tradition. But I was a timid child then and so, kept quiet and buried the dream of going to the institutions like Kalakshetra and Kalamandalam..In 1999, she moved to Kuala Lampur in Malaysia after her marriage to Manoj. There, she became interested in Odissi dance and joined the Temple of Fine Arts Kuala Lampur to learn Odissi. She has been dedicated to classical dance ever since.In 2006, she came to Odisha with a group of senior practitioners to learn Odissi and was mentored by Durga Charan Ranbir and Ratikant Mohapatra. Sandhya has also attended an Odissi dance workshop by Guru Padma Shri Madhavi Mudgal.Sandhya has been a classical dancer for more than three decades and is recognized for her idea on the implementation of dance with yoga. She has given performances at several national and international events like Raindrops Festival, Surya Festival (Kerala), and Natyolsavam (Thiruvananthapuram). She has also given performances at events for the Government of India and the Government of Malaysia. Her performance has been showcased at the Guru Gopinath Natanagramam & Dance Museum in Thiruvananthapuram. Sandhya Manoj performing Odissi dance.She gave her first performance in Kerala at Nishagandhi auditorium, where she showcased two numbers Navarasa and Dasha Maha Vidya for her short recital.She gave many performances in Odissi, and after a while, she began performing and producing her own dance theatres, which includes Shakthi Praleeyanam, Ardhnaarishwara, Padmanabha Daasa, Swati Thirunal Dashavatar, Dashamahavidhya, Prerna, and Ashtanayika Radha. Sandhya Manoj performing Padmanabha Daasa.She likes doing yoga, and in 2000, at the age of 21, Sandhya, along with her husband, launched Manasa Yoga School, a yoga studio in SS 2, Petaling Jaya. At the studio, she helped her husband conceptualize Manasa Yoga. The yoga school is known to be the best yoga school in Malaysia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the studio launched online dance and yoga classes.