Posted by Vinod II (24.47.241.215) on June 22, 2005 at 11:36:27:

 In Reply to: taking up nattuvangam posted by Umesh on June 22, 2005 at 03:06:10:

 Umesh,
Awesome to hear you would like to take up nattuvangam. I was lucky enough to learn the art from my Guru in dance.
If I were you, I'd inquire about teachers who teach nattuvangam in NJ (I'm sure Smt. Suba Parmar or Smt. Ramya Ramnarayanan might be able to help you). If not, then I would make inquiries about learning the art in Chennai. I know Bhagavatula Seetarama Sarma teaches Nattuvangam courses at his institute Kala Peetham in Chennai, though I'm not sure about how long the courses are.
As for learning nattuvangam from someone from the same style of Bharata Natyam-- I don't think it is such an issue. I know there are many who have learnt Nattuvangam from Gurus belonging to different schools than the style the practice.
You may want to pick up two books by the Late Kamala Rani of Kalakshetra (I believe they're called 'Lessons in Nattuvangam', but don't quote me) for supplemental reading. They're readily available in Chennai at the Karnatic Music Book Centre in Royapettah.