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PAPER: 3 Detail Study Of Bharatanatyam, Devadasis-Natuvnar, Nritya And Nritta, Different Bani-s, Present Status, Institutions, Artists Module 19 Gurus Of Bharatanatyam From 1900-1940 Gurus are the main rivers that water an art form. Traditionally Indian classical dances have developed over centuries and passed down from generation to generation. The great first generation of gurus of a form like Bharatanatyam originated from the Tanjore Quartet and thus Tanjore Quartet becomes fountainhead as these 4 brothers structured the Margam format of presentation which is still in use now. The art of the temples got slowly changed to courts and then pandal and weddings and proscenium stage. Thus, all through the period Bharatanatyam has evolved and there are many gurus responsible for it. The lineage in the Thanjavur durbar begins with Gangaimuthu / गंगईमथु ,ू dancer and teacher. This Tamil family, Oduvars in origin, was brought from Tirunelveli to Thanjavur to recite Tevaram (devotional) music and organize temple dances. Gangaimuthu’s son Subbaraya / स녍ु बराया Pillai too was in the durbar as a dance teacher. The Thanjavur Quartet was exponents of dance and music in 19th century south India. All of them took basic training from their father Subbaraya Pillai, and Muthuswami Dikshitar and were in the Thanjavur durbar for some time. Originally from the princely state of Thanjavur, Chinniah (1802-1856) took Bharatanatyam to Wodeyar’s court at Karnataka. He composed some keertanams and varṇams in honour of his patron and played a role in systematizing dance presentations in the durbar. Ponniah / पोन्नेया (1804-1864) and Sivanandam / शिवानंदम (1808-1863) stayed on in Tanjore under Maratha patronage. Vadivelu / वडीवेऱवु (1810-1845) modified the violin for use in Carnatic music which accompanies the dance and was among the early violin players of south India. Trained by a European Catholic priest in Thanjavur, he propagated the violin in many parts of south India, particularly in the durbar of Maharaja Swati Tirunal / वाति थथ셂नाऱ of Travancore, Kerala. The Tanjore Quartet codified the basic Bharatanatyam adavus / आडव ु (dance units), designed the margam, (the configuration of the contemporary Bharatanatyam performance from alarippu to tillana) appropriate for the concert stage. The brothers composed an impressive number of alarippus / अऱाररप,ू jatiswarams / जतिवरम, kavutuvams / कौिुव,ं sabdams / ि녍दम, varnams / वर्णम, padams / पदम,् javalis / जावऱी, kirtanais / कीिणनम and tillanas / ति쥍ऱाना and brought artistic changes and innovations of matchless exquisiteness to the tradition. Their masterpieces of compositions are unparalleled and honoured in the world of classical music and dance.1 Sivanandam / शिवानन्दम had two sons, Mahadevan and Sabapathy, to carry on the family tradition. They trained several devadasis in and around Tanjore. Nellaiappa / नेऱशऱयाप्पा nattuvanar (1859-1905), grandson of Ponniah, moved to Madras around 1880 and established himself as one of the most prominent dance masters in the city.2 It must be emphasized that the Thanjavur bani is unique within the Isai Vellalar community as it did not have any hereditary dancers, only musicians. Until recently, it has not had any hereditary dancers (devadasis) in their family tree. It also did not allow until 19th century, its women to have professional artistic status in public domain. It is the male members of this group who are associated with music and teaching dance. Which means, while they could be gifted and perform on family occasions, they were not public performers.3 In the 20th century this bani got two streams represented by two popular heads: Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai and Pichaiyya Pillai. One stayed in Pandanallur and briefly in Madras, one in Tanjore. One (Meenakshi Sundaram) became hereditary and one not (Pichayya). Guru Meenakshi Sundaram Pilai (1869-1954) loomed large over the Bharatanatyam scene and along with Guru Muthukumaran Pillai, trained most of the stars of the form. Meenakshi Sundaram married his teacher Mahadevan’s daughter and thus got further linked to the legendary Quartet lineage. Mahadevan was the son of Sivanandam of the Tanjore Quartet. Meenakshi Sundaram’s father was Satyamurthy Nattuvanar and his mother, the daughter of Ponniah Pillai of the Tanjore Quartet. Thus, both by birth and by marriage, Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai was closely associated with the Quartet. He had the good fortune of attracting prized pupils who had already acquired some fame, like Ram Gopal and Rukmini Devi Arundale. This made other talents flock to him – Shanta Rao, Mrinalini Sarabhai, US Krishna Rao, and Chandrabhaga Devi. His sojourn at the celebrated Kalakshetra lasted a bare six months but in that short time, he attracted all these stars of the style. His enamoured pupils then followed him to his village Pandanallur, where he trained them. His tradition was continued by his sons Kittappa Pillai, Subbaraya Pillai, S. Swaminathan and Chockalingam Pillai. Between them they accounted for the grooming of a third of all the Bharatanatyam dancers of their period.4 After Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, Chockalingam Pillai (1893–1968) became the guru of the Pandanallur style followed by his son Subbaraya Pillai (1914–2008) who has trained dancers Alarmel Valli, Meenakshi Chitharanjan and others. Subbaraya Pillai began training with his father first and continued with Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai. He started accompanying the students of Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai at a young age, as a vocalist and assisted in nattuvangam. Chockalingam Pillai and Subbaraya Pillai laid stress on anga suddham / अंग िुद्धम ्and aramandi / अरैमंडी. Pichayya Pillai (son-in-law of Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai) represented another branch of this lineage and his disciples T.M. Arunachalam and Vasudevan, Sikkil Ramaswami and K.J. Govindarajan added body to the heritage. While Arunachalam and Vasudevan remained south bound, Govindarajan went to Delhi and sang for Sikkil Ramaswamy, Indrani Rehman and M.K. Saroja, before teaching Kiran Segal and Jamuna Krishnan. The Pichayya School became a full-fledged college named after this illustrious guru in Tanjore.5 The second major figure was Guru Muthkumaran Pillai (1874-1960) of Kattumannarkoil, Chidambaram. He was instrumental in training Ram Gopal, Mrinalini Sarabhai and MK Saroja. He also taught Ramiah Pillai (although this fact is still disputed in some circles), Muthuswamy Pillai, Radha and Anandi, Nala Najan, K Lalitha, Kamala Lakshman and others. He moved to Madras, stayed with M.K. Saroja’s family and taught the two sisters Selvamani and Saroja. The importance of this guru can be seen in the fact that another leading guru K.N. Dandayudhapani Pillai (1921-1974) sang for M.K. Saroja. Guru Muthukumaran’s art so impressed Rukmini Devi that she asked him to teach at Kalakshetra when it opened in 1936. He was in fact, Kalakshetra’s first full time teacher. After he left, Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai was asked to take his place which he did for a mere six months. Muthukumaran returned to his village, where he initially trained Ramiah Pillai and then gifted him a readymade student Kamala Lakshman. Mrinalini Sarabhai took Muthukumaran Pillai to Ahmedabad where she started her institution Darpana. After a few years there, the guru wished to retire. While he taught several people, his sole and exclusive exponent is M.K. Saroja, who unlike others, learnt only from him.6 Muthukumara Pillai had a special liking for Ramaiah Pillai and taught him choicest items to pass on to his students. He was generous also to Kunchitapadam Pillai and Muthuswami Pillai and equipped them well in their art. Till his end, Kunchitapadam Pillai adorned Guru Muthukumaran’s photo on stage at every function of his or his pupils. Guru Ramiah Pillai (1910 – 1994) hailed from Vazhuvoor, near Mayavaram. He learnt from Guru Muthukumaran Pillai initially and also from his uncle Manikka Nattuvanar. He burst on the Madras scene when dance was gaining currency especially in films. He won acclaim for titillating flourishes that enhanced film dance items and his pupil like Kamala Lakshman with her snake dance and Vyjayantimala Bali (though she additionally learnt from K.N. Dandayuthapani Pillai) advertised his status as a glamorous teacher. As films were popular and his style was liked by the masses, he attracted a sizeable number of students. Among his students who have won acclaim are S. Kanaka, Chitra Visweswaran and Usha Venkateswaran.7 Ramaiah Pillai retired from full time teaching and conducting in the early 1960s and from 1965 onwards his son Samraj took on the reins when he was hardly 25 years old. S.K. Rajaratnam Pillai (1931 – 1994) worked with Ramaiah Pillai for 14 years from age 17. In 1960 he married Ramaiah’s niece. He started his own dance school Kamala Kala Nilayam in 1970. It was renamed as Rajarathnalaya Bharatha Kalai Koodam by his guru Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai. Ramaiah’s another son Vinayakam became a freelance music director, singer and actor, though he was trained by his father and brother Samraj to perform nattuvangam. Rajaratnam Pillai’s two sons did not study dance or music but his daughter Jayakamala Pandian combined academic studies with dance and runs her own school in Bangalore. His granddaughter Nrithya Pillai is an active performer. Rajaratnam Pillai’s sister’s grandson Swamimalai Suresh underwent rigorous training for a decade in music, dance and nattuvangam from him. K.J. Sarasa (1937-2012) carried aloft the flag of the Vazhuvoor tradition of Bharatanatyam most impressively for more than five decades. Her ancestors were court musicians who enjoyed the patronage of the Thanjavur rulers. Her grandfather Rajagopalan was the asthana vidwan / आथान वव饍वान of the Tirunallar temple. Her father Jagadeesan Pillai and her uncle Natesan Pillai were nagaswara artists in Thanjavur. Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai was related to the family and K.N. Dandayudhapani Pillai was her paternal cousin. Sarasakka or Sarasamma as she is popularly known, groomed hundreds of students, many of whom have established a name for themselves in the field of Bharatanatyam as good performers and teachers.8 S.K.

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