Bharata Muni, the author of Natya Sastra, was a Sanskrit scholar, an inventor of movements, hand gestures and facial expressions, master of rhythm, mime and much more. It is a rare person who has all these qualities necessary for dance and is also able to impart that knowledge to students.
I believe Periya Sarada of Kalakshetra was one such rarity, who was thus blessed. She was an embodiment of dedication to the fine arts. She was the right hand of Rukmini Arundel. She was endowed with devotion to God and Guru, a good scholarship in Sanskrit, had a thorough knowledge of stories from the Puranas and a great passion for Bharatanatyam. Most important, she was an excellent teacher.
It was really apt to celebrate the centenary of Sarada by students of Kalakshetra, especially by the seniors such as Dhananjayans, A. Janardhanan, C.K. Balagopal and Prof C.V. Chandrasekhar, who are in the limelight today.
The programme commenced with Vedic chants. From start to finish, a spiritual atmosphere prevailed. G. Sundari, better known as Sundari Teacher, who was close to Sarada Teacher and Rukmini Devi, said that she was perhaps the only one alive today, who was present when Kalakshetra was founded in 1936. Dancer Anita Ratnam spoke about the book ‘Nirmalam’ on Sarada Teacher, which she had edited and was released a few years ago.
Students sang in praise of Sarada Teacher; they performed pieces that she had taught them, and some spoke about her method of teaching, her kind, forgiving nature and ever-smiling countenance.
The highlight was Dikshitar’s Thodi varnam ‘Rupamujuchi.’ Shanta Dhananjayan did the nattuvangam with ease. The first half was performed by four senior dancers, now acharyas: Chandrasekhar, Balagopal, Janardhanan and Dhananjayan, who had learnt the varnam from Sarada teacher. The second half, set to tune by Tiger Varadachari, was performed by the present senior students.
It was a rare treat to watch four senior dancers, all of them outstanding acharyas, share the stage. So was ‘Kutrala Kuravanji.’ It was performed by three generations of women students of Kalakshetra, the senior most being Shanta Dhananjayan, Savitri Rao, Ambika Buch and Kala Ramesh. The programme concluded with a vibrant thillana from Sita Swayamvaram choreographed by Sri Rukmini Devi.
What a fitting tribute to an amazing teacher!
(The writer, a Kalakshetra alumnus, is a harikatha artist. She was closely associated with Rukmini Devi and Periya Sarada.)
