Remembering the doyen

The Nartaka festival will highlight the contribution of nattuvanar Pandanallur Subbaraya Pillai at a three day event.

Pandanallur Subbaraya Pillai. Photo: Special Arrangement

The eighth edition of the Nartaka Festival organised by Natyanjali Trust, Chennai, will celebrate the centenary of Pandanainallur C. Subbaraya Pillai, renowned nattuvanar, musician and an illustrious torchbearer of the legacy of the legendary Pandanallur Meenakshisundaram Pillai between October 30 and November 2 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore,.

Prema Satish, managing trustee, and Jayalakshmi Satagopan, her mother and Founder of the Natyanjali Trust, have been disciples of Subbaraya Pillai.

Born in December 1914, Subbaraya Pillai was the son of the reputed Chokkalingam Pillai, who was a relative and the first and foremost disciple of Meenakshisundaram Pillai. He was a dedicated adherent to the values imparted by his forefathers in the field of Bharatanatyam, focussing on aspects of proper paddhati with perfectly aligned rhythmical nuances set to intricate musical elements that are integral to this tradition.

“Composing adavus based on the musical pattern of the swara segments without exploiting the rhythmical frame too much in pure dance sections, keeping in mind the importance of the link between music and the adavu patterns is an important feature of this tradition” said this doyen in his interview for

The Hindu , a few weeks before his demise in May 2008. His deep belief in upholding the patantara as handed down by the senior exponents of his family was unshakeable and he appreciated those who sincerely followed his tradition.

Subbaraya Pillai began training with his father first and continued with Meenakshisundaram Pillai. He started accompanying the students of Meenakshsundaram Pillai at a young age, as a vocalist and assisted in nattuvangam. His proficiency as a vocalist was widely known and he was respected equally for his expertise in nattuvangam, which had an innate musical quality, bringing forth the unique touch of the great master.

On

November 2, 6 p.m., Natyanjali Trust will honour Bharatanatyam exponent

V.P. Dhananjayan with the ‘Nartaka Award 2014’, which will be presented by Umayalapuram K. Sivaraman, veteran mridangam exponent. Guest of honour and the first recipient of the Nartaka Award, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar, will perform after the award ceremony. The festival will feature a number of young male dancers such as Christoper Gurusamy, B. Harikrishnan, Praveen Kumar, Shankar Kandaswamy, Santosh Radhakrishnan, Ajit Bhaskaran and Justin McCarthy.