Rajee Narayan, consummate natyacharya and founder-director of Nritya Geetanjali, was adored by her disciples based across the world and admired by contemporary gurus and senior dancers.
“Simple and unassuming, she was active even at the age of 90. I was fortunate to partake in the silver and golden jubilee events of her institution and also her 80th birthday celebration. She was a great inspiration. We lived in close vicinity in Mumbai and interacted closely over the past several decades,” says veteran guru K. Kalyanasundaram.
Apart from Bharatanatyam, Rajee Narayan gave classes in Carnatic music and nattuvangam as well as in dance make-up and hairstyling. She has composed and published over 200 songs including varnams.
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Ready to adapt
“She taught us all aspects of the art form. Every moment spent with her was a learning experience. It would be difficult to find another guru like her. She was traditional yet modern in her outlook, willing to adapt to the changing times,” says her senior disciple Jaishree Rao.
Jaishree recalls her last interaction with her guru in August. “She was anxious about her ailing son, Shyam Sundar, who was in hospital, but her eyes were alert. I felt that it would be my last performance in her presence.”
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After her son’s demise on September 1, she moved to Delhi to stay with her foster daughter and grand niece, Mala Murali, where she died 25 days later.
“I was 13 when I came to live with amma in Mumbai after the demise of my mother. She was a strict disciplinarian but caring and loving too,” says Mala.
“Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night to write new compositions. Amma guided every student individually. She was also interested in gaining knowledge about electronics, medicine and learning languages such as Urdu and Persian,” she recalls.
Rajee Narayan guided her students beyond music and dance, teaching them social skills and etiquette. She made sure there was food for students who came for class straight from college. And she would take her students to restaurants for a treat after performances.
“She had a lovely collection of saris and would happily give them away if any student liked one,” says Mala. “My childhood memories are mostly of this dance class, where my sister and I spent a lot of time,” says student Priya Natesh.
Jaya Ramamurthy is proud to have been associated with Rajee Narayan for the past 45 years. “She was my music guru and I used to sing for all her dance programmes. She was adept at writing lyrics, composing music, singing and choreography,” she says.
“A musicologist, researcher and scholar, Rajee mami was a compassionate and soft-spoken person,” says Gayatri Subramaniam, recalling the 15 years spent with her guru.
Like the perfect guru, Rajee Narayan stays embodied in her students.
The Mumbai-based author writes on classical music and dance.