Mahajaya Community Stories: Where Art Meets Home – The GSD Family’s Journey in Desa Petaling
For the five members of the Shankaran-Lam family, the performing arts are not just what they do for a living. They are part of everyday life, and now part of a neighbourhood they have called home for a decade.
21 Oct 2026 – Kuala Lumpur: In most homes, conversations about work can wait until the next morning. Not quite so for Geetha Shankaran-Lam and her family. A meal or a casual chat can easily turn into a discussion about a dance sequence, a piece of music or the next production. With all five family members involved in the performing arts, there is usually someone with an idea to share, and someone else ready to offer an opinion.
They are quick to admit that working together is not always smooth sailing. There have been disagreements, frank critiques and times when everyone needed a little space. But the family has also learned to switch off, go for a movie or simply enjoy being together. It is this balance between family life and creativity that makes their story interesting, especially with GSD Performing Arts Studio now based at HEXA Walk, just down the hill from their home at Amadesa Resort Condominium in Desa Petaling.
A Family Affair, Years in the Making
GSD started in 2011 as Geethashankarandance, founded by Geetha after she set out to teach Odissi independently. Her career in Indian classical dance, however, stretches back more than four decades. At a time when the arts were not widely seen as a practical career, particularly for a young woman, she chose to pursue dance, supported by scholarships, discipline and determination. What began with classes in rented studios gradually grew into something the whole family could build together.
Her husband, Lam Ghooi Ket, brought his experience in advertising, theatre, scriptwriting and stage direction to the mix. While Geetha develops movement and choreography, Ket helps consider the story behind a performance and how audiences might understand it. Their three children grew up among rehearsals and performances, although each eventually found a different artistic path.
The eldest, Hariraam Tingyuan Lam, once considered studying mechanical engineering after SPM. His parents encouraged him to explore his musical talent instead. Today, he plays and teaches Carnatic violin and gambus, as well as working as a musician and composer, contributing original music and arrangements to family productions. “Music is my calling. Music is my passion,” he said. Younger siblings Arunagiri Szeyuan Lam and Sangametra Yuiyuan Lam have pursued dance and choreography, adding their own ideas to GSD’s work.
A Studio Just Down the Hill
For years, the family travelled across Kuala Lumpur for classes, rehearsals, and performances, while Geetha rented spaces to teach. She wanted somewhere more permanent. One day, while walking around HEXA Walk, she spotted a unit and called the number displayed to enquire, without first discussing it with the family. That spontaneous decision eventually led to GSD opening its dedicated studio there.
For Ket, there was an obvious advantage: the studio was close to Amadesa, where the family now lives, having moved to Desa Petaling in 2016. “We can even walk here,” he recalled. After years of travelling into the city, having a studio near home made the daily routine much easier. Sangametra also remembers the neighbourhood as quiet when they first moved in, and has watched HEXA Walk become livelier with shops, eateries and activities over the years.
The first 21 months at HEXA Walk saw the family put together around 15 different creative projects, while welcoming students and visiting artists. Still, Geetha admits that establishing a specialised performing arts studio has not been easy. GSD has loyal students and connections within the arts community but reaching people who live and work nearby remains a challenge. For the family, making the studio more visible and inviting to the wider neighbourhood is very much a work in progress.
Old Traditions, New Voices
One thing that keeps GSD moving forward is the way the younger generation draws on family knowledge without feeling confined by it. Arunagiri credits Geetha with giving him a strong foundation in dance technique, Ket with pushing him to think critically about storytelling, and Hariraam with opening up musical possibilities. He also speaks warmly of Sangametra, with whom he has danced since childhood. “My family has definitely been essential in my development as a student in dance and now a professional artist in my own right,” he said.
His work Feather & Flute reflects that mix of tradition and personal expression. Inspired by the 12th-century Gita Govindam and his reflections on relationships, it explores emotions that audiences today can still recognise. For Arunagiri, the aim is not only to present beautiful movements but to make the stories behind them felt and understood.
Sangametra, meanwhile, is finding her voice through teaching. Having been part of GSD since its early days, she began teaching in 2023 and discovered that younger students sometimes need a different approach from the one she experienced. She has worked on breaking lessons into clearer, more engaging steps while keeping the discipline of classical training. “Teaching has helped me become a better student,” she reflected. To her, passing on a tradition also means finding ways for new students to make sense of it.
Making Room for More People
Looking ahead, the family hopes GSD can reach beyond its existing circle of students and artists. Sangametra would like people of different ages and backgrounds to feel comfortable walking in, even without prior dance experience. Arunagiri hopes audiences will connect with Indian classical performances through their emotions and stories, not just admire the technique. Both see the studio as a place where different traditions, generations and ideas can meet.
That outlook comes from Geetha, who sees art as something deeply human rather than simply a performance or a business. “It’s about family, human being, empathy, compassion, kindness. Only then we can create art,” she said. With Amadesa as their home and HEXA Walk as their creative base, the Shankaran-Lam family is putting that belief into practice, one class, rehearsal and collaboration at a time.
For Mahajaya, the GSD Shankaran-Lam family’s story reflects how a neighbourhood is shaped not only by the buildings within it, but also by the people and passions that bring it to life. Beyond developing homes and commercial spaces, it is about creating places where families can put down roots, businesses can grow, and people can share their talents and connect with the wider community. Through GSD Performing Arts Studio, Desa Petaling continues to be a place where creativity, family and community come together.
