The Dhananjayans' steps to excellence

V.P. and Shantha Dhananjayan on what it takes to be a complete performer and teacher

May 17, 2018 04:27 pm | Updated 05:51 pm IST

 Dhananjayans with Pt. Ravi Shankar, Shantha on a tourism brochure and teaching students at Bharatakalanjali  Photos: K.V. Srinivasan and The Hindu Archives

Dhananjayans with Pt. Ravi Shankar, Shantha on a tourism brochure and teaching students at Bharatakalanjali Photos: K.V. Srinivasan and The Hindu Archives

Five young girls, all students of the Dhananjayans, performed a segment titled ‘Dance of the hand-maidens’, choreographed by their guru, in a mega music and dance theatre production ‘Chakra - A Celebration of India’ presented by Jacques d’Amboise, founder of National Dance Institute, New York. As the segment ended, a thousand children joined the five, dancing in unison with them as the curtains came down amidst thunderous applause. It was a moment of great pride and exhilaration for the Dhananjayans as their dance institution, Bharatakalanjali, marked its footprint on a global platform. This year as Bharatakalanjali turns 50, the celebrated dancing couple look back on a life filled with challenges and how they faced them together.

The year 1968 was momentous — their dance institution and first son Sanjay were born. It was also the year, when they created new compositions for their Bharatanatyam repertoire, such as the Natyanjali (combination of alaripu, jatiswaram and shabdam) and the Atana varnam composed by Thuraiyur Rajagopala Sarma, which Dhananjayan called Nrityopaharam. From the time its first student, Sumathi Sriram, entered the portals of Bharatakalanjali, it has grown to be a premier address for training in Bharatanatyam, with many of its alumni teaching and performing across the globe.

Moving out of Kalakshetra, Dhananjayan faced many hurdles — financial, lack of opportunities for a male dancer, absence of a godfather, getting performances at sabhas without payment... “Doubts and fears were many. I was warned by senior alumni Mohan Khokar that there is no life for a male dancer outside the Kalakshetra. It was a time when people were only willing to buy tickets to watch Balamma, Kamala and Vyjyanthimala perform. Yet, alongwith Shantha, I embarked on this long journey,” he recalls. But there were many blessings too, in the form of family support (Shantha’s parents helped raise the children when they had to be away), and friends who pitched in when opportunities for group productions came their way. Shantha and Dhananjayan knew that they would have to work hard, persevere and adapt. They welcomed every opportunity with open arms but never compromised on the high aesthetic standards they set for themselves. Fortunately, it was the time when tourism promotional activites, including Air India, were gaining momentum. The big break came when they were invited by Malaysian-Singapore Airlines for an inter-cultural exchange programme. Since it called for a group of dancers, the Dhananjayans invited their contemporaries who would be willing to share the platform with them. Soon they were joined by many including Ambika Buch, Adyar Lakshman and Narasimhacharis. The success of this led to many more programmes for the tourism department that were held at homes, hotels or public spaces and provided them the money to run the family.

CHENNAI: 16-05-2018---  Bharathanatyam exponent Dhananjayan and Shantha Dhananjayan with Barathakalanjali students.  Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: 16-05-2018--- Bharathanatyam exponent Dhananjayan and Shantha Dhananjayan with Barathakalanjali students. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

A French photographer hired by Air India and the Tourism Department for a promotional photoshoot chose Shantha as the model. Suddenly, Shantha’s face was there in the brochures, calendars and films. It was at this time that their second son Satyajit was born. Ironically, he took to photography.

Then came the next big opportunity... a trip to Paris to perform at the prestigious Theatre de la Ville. The show had big names such as Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Birju Maharaj and Pt. Shivkumar Sharma. Before they embarked on this journey, they had a visitor, Uma came with her teenaged daughter Alarmel Valli.

She had a request, her daughter was to perform at the festival and she wanted to know if they would be willing to share the orchestra. The Dhananjayans, who are known to reach out to artistes, speak up boldly for the fraternity and raise pertinent issues, willingly agreed.

For the Dhananjayans, the show was a great success — three houseful performances, six days a week. It was also a learning experience for them on working with other artistes in a new environment. “We were always looking at the larger picture of imbibing knowledge and spreading the richness of our art,” says the veteran, who takes pride in his many committed and hard working students, who are taking forward the guru’s vision.

Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar with Shanta and Dhananjayan.
Photo: The Hindu Archives/Staff

Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar with Shanta and Dhananjayan. Photo: The Hindu Archives/Staff

In London, Pushkala Gopal was instrumental in arranging for a funded group production. “Indian classical dance then was seen more as a solo art form. So the Arts Council was hesitant to fund a group work. But the council put forth a condition — all the four classical dance forms, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi and Kathakali should be incorporated. Thus was born ‘Jungle book’. “We wanted Pt. Ravi Shankar to score the music, but due to prior commitments, he put us on to his student, Vijayaraghava Rao, who came up with a superb score.”

As auditions were under way, Dhananjayan’s sharp eyes fell on a restless boy, who was waiting for his sister who had signed up for the audition. Much to the chagrin of his parents the boy was chosen. They finally gave in to the persuasive powers of Dhananjayan. This little boy became a rage in later years as Akram Khan.

‘Jungle Book’ also proved to be a rich training ground for another dancer, Shobana Jeyasingh. With their ability to spot talent, the couple has helped build many careers.

When Pt. Ravi Shankar was invited by the Birmingham Touring Opera to work with them, he and his wife Sukanya (interestingly, she is a product of Bharatakalanjali) were keen on the Dhananjayans being a part of his musical ‘Ghanshyam’alongside Kathak maestro, Durgalal. This was a rich creative experience. Speaking about it, Shantha says: “At Kalakshetra, we were trained to be self-reliant, attending to all aspects like making our own costumes and jewellery. In contrast, here all that we had to do was to create, ideate and perform. The stagecraft by Graham Vick was astounding, show after show. He brought on to the stage, a tap with running water, broke a bough at a precise point — show after show faultlessly. It was the delegation of work that amazed me. Their complete professionalism was a lesson in team work.”

In 1993, they re-visited ‘Jungle Book’ with the Cleveland Cultural Alliance and the Ohio Ballet Company wherein Pt. Vijayaraghava Rao was roped in again. Says Shantha, “His score broke the tradition of Indian dance’s reliance on lyrics. We choreographed afresh.”

Besides their international forays, they came up with Tamil works such as ‘Kadal Valli Kanda Murugan’ based on Periyasamy Thooran’s compositions , Arunachala Kavirayar’s ‘Rama Naatakam’, as also ‘Sanghamithra’, ‘Thyagaraja Vaibhavam’ and more. Meanwhile, Dhananjayan paved the way and became a role model for many young male dancers.

Teaching the art that they learnt in their alma mater, and taking it to the next generation has been their lifelong passion. Their endeavour has been to make their institution a holistic learning centre of culture. Speaking about the changes that has taken place over the decades, they say, “Earlier there was no parental intervention, the students were completely left under our care. The time students are now able to devote to art is shorter, with a lot of diversion and parental pressure on extra curricular activities and quick learning. Their attention span is also shorter; they learn fast and forget faster. Accordingly, we have to change our teaching methodology. Earlier, they would be made to practice adavus for a couple of years, we now have to teach them compositions in between to sustain interest.”

The story of Bharatakalanjali is about a dancing couple, who are grateful to their alma mater for their learning and continue to learn as they teach, always adapting to new situations as easily and effortlessly as possible. It is also a story in humility, hard work and persistence as much as it is in honesty, sharing and giving. And its legacy will continue, what with the baton being passed on to son Satyajit and daughter-in-law Anupama.

The learning at Bharatakalanjali does not stop with just learning the art but making it a way of life. The neat line of footwear outside the class, adherence to traditional attire, punctuality, camaraderie in the class and constant encouragement to channel the learning are some examples.

The Yogaville Natya Adhyayana camp modelled on the gurukula system that they conducted for 25 years, kept them tuned to developments in arts education. It gave them the opportunity to travel around New York state, visiting five schools each day to give lecture-demonstration.

But the greatest joy for the Dhananjayans is the fact that decades after their exit, art lovers still see them as an aerial root of the Banyan tree — Kalakshetra.

CHENNAI: 15-05-2018---  Bharathanatyam exponent Dhananjayan and Shantha Dhananjayan.    Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: 15-05-2018--- Bharathanatyam exponent Dhananjayan and Shantha Dhananjayan. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

The 4G couple

Wherever the Dhananjayans now go, they are besieged by requests for autographs and selfies. The admiration and respect they get from art aficionados now extend to mass appeal. Because the dancing duo is also the popular Vodafone couple. “The offer came all of a sudden. Nirvana Films had been looking at many real life couples, mainly actors. An advertising professional called my son Satyajit and asked if we would be willing to feature in an ad film. When we gave our nod, we were flown to Goa the very next day. I expected it to be a regular ad showing us talking on the phone, but on reaching the shooting spot we were told about the various adventurous ideas. We had a blast doing the campaign,” says Dhananjayan.

It has been such a hit that they have been signed for a two-year contract and the shoot has taken them to places like Istanbul.

Facing the camera is nothing new for them. In 1974, they were cast by Paramount Pictures as a dancing couple in a Shammi Kapoor film Holiday In India, directed by Herbert Coleman an associate of Alfred Hitchcock. A year after they were finalised, Coleman came to shoot and was disappointed that Shantha could not dance as she was pregnant. He was so keen that she be a part of the film that he shot one scene with her. Unfortunately the film never got released. Young director Shridhar Rajan featured Dhananjayan’s dance sequence from his production ‘Nandanar Charitham’ in his filmKann Sivandal Mann Sivakkum.

The success of the Vodafone ad has brought many more such offers, but they are choosy about what they want to do. Shantha has just completed shooting for a Rajiv Menon feature film, whereas VPD is doing a role, originally planned with Amitabh Bachchan, in a Gautam Vasudeva Menon film starring Vikram. They seem to be enjoying this new phase in their life

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.