Unique to Indian classical dance tradition is some of world’s most fascinating features: The guru-sishya parampara is one and mother-daughter duo is another.
There have been many such pairs: Starting with pioneer Ragini Devi and Indrani Rahman (and her daughter Sukanya). Then there were the Bombay-based Sitara Devi and Jayanthimala in Kathak. Who can forget the late Manjushree-Ranjabati Chaki Sircar of Calcutta? So also Maya Rao and Madhu in Kathak and contemporary. Every style of classical dance is still graced by such pairs. In Kuchipudi, there are Radha Reddy and daughters Yamini and Bhavana; Vyjayanti and daughter Prateeksha Kashi. Bharati Sivaji-Vijaylakshmi for Mohiniyattom. In Odissi, Kiran Segal-Sujata and now Madhyama and Sujata Mohapatra and daughter Preetisha. In Bharatanatyam, there are Uma Rele-Vydehi, Jamuna-Ragini Krishnan, Geeta-Sharanya Chandran, Viji-Mythili Prakash, Rama-Dakshina Vaidyanathan, Rajeshwari-Vaishnavi Sainath and Gayatri-Mahati Kannan.
“You can say, teaching begins in the womb,” smiles Dr. Aratty Shetty, a senior teacher of dance at Mangalore University, whose late mother guru Jayalaskhmi Alva learnt from vidwan Dandayudhapani Pillai and taught Sonal Mansingh and Waheeda Rehman in her Bombay days. “The umbilical cord never gets broken. There is a strange unwritten bond on and off stage. My daughter Sathvika now continues the art,” says Dr. Shetty.
Process of osmosis
According to Pune-based senior guru Sucheta Chapekar, there are no disadvantages, only advantages. “When my daughter Arundhati decided to pursue dance professionally at the late age of 16, I knew she would do well but I had to be equal to all students. When we perform together, her expectations are more from me, so I have to work harder,” she says.
Along with teaching also happens the process of osmosis. As Chennai’s senior dancer-guru Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari states, “Being a family of artistes, my late husband guru Narasimhachari and my two daughters Lavanya and Lasya, felt an innate, inexplicable bond — call it emotional, physical, spiritual or whatever — while dancing together. This microcosmic universe of ours, encompassed a unifying, surreal connection, that is dance.”
A sense of competition does exist. Either all mothers are maternal — too kind and polite, or they don’t want to state the obvious. Age being important in dance, how one looks on stage is absolutely important — from the perspective of the lay audience and organisers. The youth factor can often unsettle even the most philosophic and established souls. Organisers are known to have preferences for young dancers. Mothers can tag along!
Whether there is competition or not, there are several pluses. A daughter can take classes, stand in, inherit a school. Daughters can also be a tool for bringing in changes to suit the times, especially the digital era. Simple tasks such as writing grant applications, sending emails and photos to organisers and media by Internet matters a lot today. Daughters can also learn and earn from an early age, thus providing financial security for themselves. Mothers in dance make daughters self-reliant.
Guru Aloka Panikar, senior Odissi talent from Delhi, could not have continued teaching after her disastrous road-accident in 1985 if her daughter Ambika had not stepped in and taken over teaching. She sacrificed her budding performing career to teach from a young age. Between mother and daughter many Italians, Argentinians, French and Indians have been trained . “Without my only child — and thank god it is a daughter — I would have lost my dance career totally,” shares Panikar.
Continuity of the art
Guru Gayathri Kesavan of Hyderabad, now settled in Bangalore with daughters Maithreyi and Mathangi, feels, “We aim at continuity of the art and the confidence in passing on the passion for tradition to the next generation. Teaching our own children is much easier as they are exposed to this experience from childhood. They have grown up seeing parents involved with the art totally. Mothers have to work harder to maintain fitness levels, especially after childbirth. To manage family, husband and relatives then teach and reach out? Phew, are we super-humans?”
One area of concern for students is unfair projection of a daughter by an over-zealous mother-guru. What if a mother, who sits on a say, a committee of influence and promotes his or her own daughter? This happens often and causes alarm and concern to more honest practitioners. Such daughters often also get central roles in home productions, over more talented aspirants.
The graciousness of the previous generation is almost gone. Mrinalini Sarabhai represented that quality, thinks her dancer-daughter Mallika. “Mother was all about art. Everything else came later.” That single-minded pursuit has given India its legends.
The writer, a critic and historian, is the author of several books and edits attenDance, the yearbook
