Devayani (actress)

Devayani is an primary school teacher and Indian actress who has predominantly starred in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, along with a few Hindi and Bengali films. She received the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for her performances in the films Kadhal Kottai, Surya Vamsam and Bharathi. She has also appeared in other commercially successful films, including Aanandham and Friends as well as in the Sun TV series Kolangal and Muthaaram.

Personal life

Devayani was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra into a Konkani family, to Jayadev and Lakshmi. She has two brothers, Nakul and Mayur. The former is working as an actor and singer in the Tamil film industry, while the latter would also make his acting debut in an upcoming film. She dated director Rajakumaran with whom she had worked on a couple films for several years. Both their parents did not approve of their relationship, which led to the couple elope, and marry privately at a temple on 9 April 2001. They have two daughters Iniya and Priyanka.Currently she is teaching at Church Park School at Anna Salai,Chennai for class four students.

Devayani

In Hindu mythology, Devayani (Sanskrit: देवयानी, Devayānī) was the daughter of Shukracharya and his wife Jayanti, daughter of Indra. In her early life, she was rejected by Kacha, the son of Brihaspati. Thus Devyani cursed him he will never be able to use his knowledge, in turn Kacha also cursed Devayani that she would not get married to any devas.

She later married Yayati, son of Nahusha whom she encountered when the princess Sharmishtha pushed her into a well. Devayani asked Yayati to marry her as he had clasped her hand while lifting her out of the well. Yayati and Devayani had two sons, Yadu and Turvasu. Devayani also means "main goddess" or "mastermind".

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Devayani (dancer)

Annick Chaymotty, known by the stage name Devayani, is a French dancer who performs in the classical Indian dance style Bharata Natyam. She has performed in India as well as in festivals and concert halls in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, the Scandinavian countries, Estonia, and Korea. Devayani is an empanelled artist with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Govt. of India. In 2009, she was awarded the Padma Shri.

Early life

Annick Chaymotty became interested in dance as an art form as a young girl, when she saw pictures by the French impressionist painter Degas in a book. A few years later, at the age of 10, she started attending classical music and dance classes in a Paris conservatory. She studied classical ballet and modern contemporary dance at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. She was noticed by the Flamenco dancer Lutys de Luz, a soloist of the Ballet Company of the Marquis de Cuevas, who taught her the Spanish Classical dance at "La Salle Pleyel" .