A woman who dazzled everyone with her infectious laughter and sense of humour — that’s how her friends recall Chandralekha, the late contemporary dancer and choreographer. Poet-dancer Tishani Doshi, kalaripayattu teacher Shaji K. John, and cultural commentator and her close associate, Sadanand Menon, talk about the dancer as they prepare Spaces, the performance arena by the sea, for Sharira, her last work. For them, this is not just any other performance, but a special moment to remember their dear friend on her 10th anniversary.
Sadanand Menon
For a boy who was brought up in a middle class/upper middle class family, Chandralekha was a complete cocking the thumb at conventionality. She used to have this infectious laughter. T. Janakiraman, the Tamil novelist, describes a woman whose laughter entered the room, before she entered. That was Chandra.
Her personality was atypical. I had met many people who were kind and good. But, hardly did they have that chutzpah or that spark that she did.
She was fiercely independent. She lived alone; she mocked at people who thought of marriage. She would tell the young girls and boys who came to her dance school that it was better to get married at 60 when you needed a partner. But, all of them went ahead and got married. She would joke that the one failure in her life was that she could not convince them.
We would discuss everything. She had a fantastic library; hers was deep reading and she never mugged up.
She had a built-in crap detector that could make out the false from the truth. She could spot them easily. She did not live by any rule book. She used to say ‘I am not clear about what to do, but I am about what not to do’.
Shaji K. John
I met Chandralekha from a state of ignorance. I was just 16 and was not aware of her philosophy or intellectual stature then. But, her disciplined lifestyle had an effect on me. I found her principles very similar to that of my gurukkal in Kerala. Qualities like punctuality and dedication, which I associated with him, were reflected in her too.
Hers was not a casual approach. She was completely dedicated to her work. She would get up early in the morning. She was a self-sufficient woman and also very humorous. She also valued natural resources; she would never waste water and run the motor only for five minutes. She would take care of her plants dearly, so much that she never liked people touching them.
We are doing this performance purely out of our fondness for Chandralekha. She never promoted herself; her engagement with art was not driven by an interest in money or awards. We love her as an individual, and we practised Sharira to remember her. There isn’t a more beautiful way to do that.
Tishani Doshi
The first time Shaji asked me to meet her, I was scared. She had a small frame, but a very large personality. It felt like being called to the principal’s office. But, at the very first instance, she took my hands, laughed and welcomed me.
There is a stage in your life when you are willing to be uprooted. I was at that stage. Chandra invited me into her life and put me into this production. She showed me how to live as an artiste and a woman in this country. We had many talks not just about dance, but life as well. It was a very full experience.
She could be intense, but extremely funny. She would say, “When men lose their bodies, it is time to throw them into the ocean!” There was always a sense of play. Whenever I hear a recording of her laughter, I tear up. It was very girlish and joyous. She could be forbidding and intense. But, she could also just talk about birds and love.
She was not a typical guru. It was always an equal relationship. She was a friend, family cum stranger, who you could share your life story with. She was adventurous, fearless, strong, yet open to life and involved. And, she demanded that of the people she was with.
(As told to PARSHATHY J. NATH)
