Click anywhere to experience Niyantri with sound

Niyantri

Who we are

Niyantri is a singular artistic voice - as music and dance. A tour de force of two women who embody a sacred power - of being the music and dance. Offering a powerful and sensitive confluence of tradition, innovation and spirituality, Niyantri’s mission is to enable an inner awakening and inspire a collective shift in human consciousness through the transformative and healing power of art.

Company

about

Niyantri is a singular artistic voice where music and dance exist as one - two expressions of the same source energy; one as formless sound and the other as embodied movement.  A tour de force of two women who embody a sacred power — of being the music and dance. Their combined presence is powerful kinetic force of raw potential energy, where every movement and breath align seamlessly with the stories they convey, blurring the lines between two individuals and two distinct forms, offering an experience of pure oneness.

For Founders and Artistic Directors Divya Devaguptapu and Ranjani Ramakrishnan, decades of immersion in the disciplines of Carnatic Music (Indian Classical Music) & Bharatanatyam (Indian Classical Dance) became a form of consecration, reshaping their energetic spaces and drawing them closer to the divine within. 

The stories they share through their work  speak of the oneness of all existence, inviting the audience into a space where life is experienced in its entirety — without division,  judgment or ideological barriers. Their narratives, often drawn from Indian mythology and their own lived experience, serve as metaphors for a universal human experience, embracing every emotion and expression as inherently valid simply for what they are, enabling the audience to experience a loving recognition of oneness within. In performance, they effortlessly slip into a mesmerizing trance, creating a powerful vortex drawing everyone into its embrace. The audience becomes an active co-traveler with this experience, dissolving boundaries with the artist in a shared moment of oneness. The sensitivity and emotional intensity of this embodied experience is expansive, flooding the space and leaving everyone unified, empowered and transformed. Their deep connection to the very source of creation enables a spontaneous, organic flow within their expression, making improvisation not just an element of their performances but an inherent way of being.

For them, art is a space of self-experience, elevation and transformation. To share this aspect of art to transform one’s energies is the mission of their several outreach and engagement programs. With Master’s degrees in Engineering and Commerce, their early academic pursuits alongside art has fostered an insatiable curiosity and a passion for knowledge. Erudite and extensively researched across diverse fields, they recognize the interconnectedness of various disciplines, blending them into a rich reservoir of wisdom that informs their artistic practice. 

Leading exponents of their generation in the fields of Carnatic Violin and Bharatanatyam, they are true shapeshifters. Their deep understanding and immersion of these forms allow them to seamlessly adapt various elements of tradition without compromising classicism or technical integrity. They refine and expand the art, in ways that are unique and organically woven, tuning it brilliantly to align with the mood and intent of the story.

With years of path breaking and diverse contributions to the art, they have cultivated a unique and eclectic wisdom. Through Niyantri, they channel this depth of experience, expanding their artistic vision to enable a profound impact on humanity. The core mission of Niyantri is to share this profound space of inner oneness, healing and transformation through the power of art.

Niyantri is a non-profit based in North Carolina, USA.

Our Story

About us

Life brings people together for various reasons. Often times for a purpose that they need to fulfil together, something that the Universe intricately orchestrates in ways only it knows.

Founders Divya & Ranjani are examples of this cosmic design. They grew up and worked in different cities, practicing two different art forms for over three decades and first came together to work on a collaboration project in 2017. Their very first rehearsal revealed to them that they shared something beyond collaboration. They sensed each other’s deeper artistic seeking - a longing for something beyond a transactional relationship with art and life - a longing for a purpose in art beyond the self. 

Their strikingly similar ways of life, despite the seeming contrasts, brought them closer as friends; discovering life together and pouring those discoveries back into the art they created. They experienced an uncanny bond and their artistic communion felt connected in myriad ways. Creating art together was sheer joy where every moment had a story to reveal blurring the boundaries between their art and life. They collaborated as professionals for several years, with each creation silently guiding them closer to formalizing their purpose together, for a larger vision through art.

Niyantri was established  in 2025. A singular artistic voice; as music and dance.

Niyantri
Niyantri

You are born for your purpose - your purpose is not born of you.

Life is where we understand art and art is how we experience life.

FOUNDERS &
ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Niyantri

Divya
Devaguptapu

A dynamic performer, choreographer and educator, Divya Devaguptapu, is an important voice in Bharatanatyam today. Her work is deeply rooted in the traditional framework of Bharatanātyam and laced with contemporary thought, creating a unique style that is meaningful across global audiences. An artist of rare maturity and sensitivity, her artistry is an amalgam of rich tradition (Disciple of Dhananjayans), sublime gift, and her endless quest for truth. For Divya, Bharatanatyam is her chosen language of expression through which she shares her lived experience of life.  An out of the box thinker with a highly creative mind, her art transcends technique making for a deeply emotional and meditative experience.

Her knowledge and understanding of Carnatic Music enhances her dance making her choreography a studied yet instinctive response to music. A keen researcher with a deep interest in classical literature and mythology, she has created several choreographies based on rare Indian literary works.

She has collaborated with musician Ranjani Ramakrishnan extensively over the last many years and their works have won several awards and acclaim worldwide. Their dance film titled “Soham-The Swan” was selected for several international Dance film festivals including the Lincoln Center, New York. Divya has also created work in collaboration with musician Dr. S Sowmya, artist Keshav Venkataraghavan and choreographers Patricia Rincon, Peter Kalivas and Late Jacques d’ Amboise. She has toured world over with performances at several prestigious festivals and venues, including Madras Music Academy, NCPA Mumbai, Kalakshetra Foundation Chennai, Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai Margazhi season, India Habitat Center - New Delhi, India International Center – New Delhi, Ananya Bangalore, Soorya Festivals - India, Mingei International Museum USA, Mandapa- Paris, Cleveland Tyagaraja Festival, IFAA San Diego and Blurred Borders International Dance Festival, to name a few.

A passionate educator who believes in the importance and impact of art education for all ages, Divya has taught Bharatanatyam at University of California San Diego and has been a teaching artist with Young Audiences of America, A Step Beyond & Arts Education Connect, USA. She mentors several students of Bharatanatyam at Sannidhi Performing Arts, San Diego and is highly regarded as a generous and committed teacher with strict adherence to tradition. Several of her students have performed their Arangetram and have toured with her internationally for performances.

She is the artistic director of Suryakala Foundation for Performing Arts in Chennai, India, a non-profit trust for the promotion of Classical Music & Dance. The foundation aims to ideate, curate and present classical dance and music with continued relevance to today’s audience with an emphasis on creativity and innovation within tradition. Ekam, a critically acclaimed festival of Bharatanatyam solos is curated by her.

She firmly believes in the unifying power of art to uplift and enable an inner seeking. All of her work stems from this deepest truth. Stretching the boundaries of Bharatanatyam making it accessible to today’s global audiences through deeper interpretations and metaphors, she strives to make Bharatanatyam mainstream in global conversations of dance. After years of closely collaborating with Ranjani Ramakrishnan, uncovering a mutual purpose with art that transcends conventional boundaries, she has formally channeled her artistic expression through Niyantri – a music and dance company founded in 2023 with a mission to inspire change through the transformative power of art. Divya serves as a Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Niyantri, dedicated to sharing the transformative and healing power of art to serve humanity.

Niyantri

Ranjani
Ramakrishnan

Ranjani Ramakrishnan is an independent composer, vocal and violin artiste, trained in Indian Classical Carnatic Music. Highly sensitive, innovative and passionate, her  music embodies a uniquely personal and intense expression. Her impeccable bowing and sensitive tonality is highly acclaimed by connoisseurs and critics alike. She spontaneously adapts her training in Carnatic music to other musical forms, be it Carnatic-Hindustani jugalbandi, Indo-western fusion, film music, dance collaborations and theater.


She was initiated into music at age four by her mother and Guru Seetha Ramakrishnan in Mumbai India. Growing up in a musically engaging and enriching environment, where her parents and siblings also played musical instruments,  Ranjani’s upbringing,  immersed in music paved the way for a life of movement,  through music. She has also trained in Carnatic vocal from Guru Latha Ramchand, Chennai.  


She  is a grade ‘A’ violin artiste with the broadcasting house,  AIR  and Doordarshan - Govt of India. She has performed at many prestigious events and venues world over including, the NCPA, TATA Theatre, TIFR, BARC, Kala Ghoda Festival, Dadarathiya Festival etc,  Mumbai, Kalakshetra, Music Academy, Madras, Ellora Aurangabad Festival, Khajuraho Festival, Gulaal Festival Pune, SIFAS Singapore, Cleveland Tyagaraja Festival, Bengal Festival Bangladesh, Al-Bustan Palace Muscat, James Armstrong Theatre Los Angeles, IFAASD San Diego, Durham Arts Council & Duke University, North Carolina. She has also been on the panel of judges at AIR and  many other venues and festivals including The Malhar Festival, The Youth festival, SIFAA & The Cleveland Festival, among several others.


Ranjani’s  role as the Music coordinator, Educator, Actor and Violin artist in the internationally acclaimed movie Morning Raga starring Shabana Azmi, was highly commended, propelling  her quest for truth and thus, deepened her outreach with Indian classical music across a larger cross-cultural audience. She has collaborated with dancer and choreographer Divya Devaguptapu extensively, over the last several  years and their work has  won them awards and acclaim worldwide. Their dance film titled “Soham-The Swan” was selected for several international Dance film festivals including the Lincoln Center, New York.


Inspired by her mother’s six decade long journey of discipline, dedication and devotion to music education, Ranjani  established aRRtspace a music school  in Morrisville, NC, USA where she has been training students with her mother, for the past 2 decades. She believes that her deep rooted training in music has broadened her outlook and helped her find much meaning, purpose and engagement with life and she has infused the philosophy of  ‘Art embodies a way of life’, into her role as an arts educator. She firmly believes in the healing power of sound and music and that the way we listen is very fundamental to the way we perceive and experience life. She aims to create a methodology that can assist everybody to play simple  movement techniques on the violin and thus expose oneself  to the complex microtonal music of the Indian system, offering a very holistic essence of tones and sounds. This is the foundation upon which, the depth and width of Indian music can be perceived and as such, life. Her mission is to offer a comprehensive understanding of art. 


Her fortuitous meeting and subsequent collaboration of several years with dancer Divya Devaguptapu blossomed into Niyantri, a music and dance company they co-founded in 2023. Ranjani serves as a Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Niyantri, dedicated to sharing the transformative and healing power of art to serve humanity.