“I’ve been dancing, as far back as I can remember,” laughs Kali Veerapathiran when asked how he got interested in dancing. He remembers about learning from television shows. “‘Margazhi thingal allava’ ( Sangamam ) and ‘Maraindirundu Paarkum’ ( Thillana Mohannambal ) were among my favourite songs to dance to,” he tells me over a phone call. Kali was the one his school would turn to for performances on special occasions. “It started when I was in second standard. I didn’t get off the stage after that.”
Born in Kovalam, a fishing village near Chennai, Kali literally danced his way into Kalakshetra. When he was in Std XI, he performed during the inauguration of a Tsunami Rehabilitation Centre. In the audience was Sarah Chanda, who offered to sponsor his education in Chennai’s premier institution of dance. “I thought she was saying something on the spur of the moment, so I smiled, nodded and left. But she was serious.” Kali was told he had a chance to be on television, “I was very excited. And she took me to this forest” where he met “a bespectacled elderly lady”.
- Performances include Koodiyattam by Kapila Venu; Naadi, a children’s play directed by G Vijaykumar; Poikkal Kuthirai by Shivaji Rao and troupe; Interactive Carnatic Concert by Brinda Manickavasakan, Shreya Devnath, Trichy G Aravind; Villupaattu by Bharathi Thirumaga, T Kalaimagan and troupe; Badaga dance by the Mahalinga Badaga Troupe; and Percussion Ensemble by Delhi Sairam (Mridangam), Sunil Kumar (tavil and kanjira) and Friends Kalai Kuzhu (Parai)
- On February 21 & 22, from 9.30 am to 4.00 pm
- At Vidya Vanam School, Thuvaipathy Road, Anaikatti
- No entry fee. Open for all. Prior registration is required, as the school will provide tea and lunch.
- To register, email vvschooloffice@gmail.com or svanubhava@gmail.com or
- call +919731811770 or +919159394160
Kali is laughing hard at this point. “I didn’t know who Leela Samson (then director of Kalakshetra) was, what this place was all about...” He demonstrated what he could do to one of the teachers and left. After he finished Std XII, Kali thought about what he wanted to do. He had worked through his school and didn’t want to get caught in the rut of low paying jobs. “So I applied to Kalakshetra and cleared the interview. My first year was sponsored but after that I won a full scholarship.”
The first year was very difficult, he recalls. “I’d never liked the idea of sending children to hostels and here I was in a hostel myself.” There was a language barrier to overcome as well, with most people speaking English, Malayalam and Hindi. “I would search for people who could talk Tamil. Slowly I started learning English and once I made friends and started participating in other activities I was fine. But I missed my mother.”
Kali Veerapathiran
The Bharatanatyam training from Kalakshetra is only one aspect of Kali’s dance. He’s proficient in folk dances like Oyilattam, Thappattam and Poikkal Kuthirai and is now learning Karagattam. “I want to learn as much as I can,” he says earnestly. He also did a certified course in Salsa from the Jeffrey Vardon Modern Academy and is keen to pursue more western dance forms. All this, he says, gives him a deeper understanding of dance and will help when he starts his own dance school.
His participation in Zee TV’s Dance Jodi 2.0 also helped open his eyes to the many forms. “They saw the documentary about me on the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) and invited me. I knew only Bharatanatyam but here, I had to do different dances: jazz, Kathak, salsa... it was a learning experience.” Despite some negativity — “some people felt that a Kalakshetra graduate shouldn’t be in a reality show — the show brought Kali lots of popularity. More than recognition, what Kali values is the respect. “I never dreamed that I would be called as a chief guest for a college function. Even now, one year after it ended, people recognise me,” he sounds awed. “I have to live up to their expectations.”
Plans for Svanubhava
Kali’s performance is titled Verum Vizhuthum and will show how classical and folk are intertwined. “The roots are the same,” he says, pointing out that some adavus of Bharatanatyam are found in Oyilattam and the taalams in Thappattam; Devarattam’s hand gestures can be seen in Odissi. “I want to show the children the links between the two.” Kali will, therefore, present a solo Bharatanatyam recital and, along with a team, folk dances. “I’m still deciding what exactly I should do,” he says.
He recalls his first Svanubhava experience. “I was still in college and Ranjani-Gayatri were performing. When they threw the floor open for questions, I asked them who was the older of the two. I didn’t know anything about Carnatic music then, but felt I had to get up and ask something.”
