As the 10th edition of the tribute ceremony to KJ Sarsa begins in Chennai today, watch how first lady Nattuvanar helped young dancers find their unique expression.
As the 10th edition of the tribute ceremony to KJ Sarsa begins in Chennai today, watch how first lady Nattuvanar helped young dancers find their unique expression.
“Performance is best suited to those who have a good stage presence. However, the shelf life of a performer is often short, whereas teaching can be a lifelong pursuit. So I strongly think you should choose the latter ,” said guru Vazuvoor Ramaiah Pillai. The young girl, who nurtured the desire to become an artist, realized that her dreams were falling apart. Still, she heeded her mentor’s advice, and never regretted it. KJ Sarasa went on to become one of the most sought-after Bharatanatyam dance gurus.
Saraswati (a name coined by the writer Sivasankari, his disciple) which he founded in 1960, became an institution for young people who wanted to learn the art form. He is credited with having performed over 1,000 arrangtrams and 2,000. Among his students are former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was also there.
Ratna Papa, Padmini Ravi, Sita Ratnakar, Shrekala Bharata, A. Many senior artists and teachers of today including Lakshmana, Urmila Satyanarayanan, Lavanya Anantha, Swarnamalya Ganesh, Bhargavi Gopalan, Lavanya Shankar, Meena Logan, Shailaja, Kavita Ramu, Poornima Kaushik. Divyath Arun, and Raghuram Master were groomed in Sarsalaya.
challenging journey
However, it was not easy for Sarsa. His journey was full of challenges at every level but he overcame them with his passion and commitment. He fell in love with the art form after seeing Kumari Kamala performing in her native village Karaikkal.
Fortunately for Sarasa, Kamala’s guru, Kattumannar Koil Muthukumar Pillai, agreed to travel from Mayavaram to Karaikkal to teach her. Later, he suggested that he continue his training under Vazuvoor Ramaiah Pillai. She moved to Madras and stayed in Gurukulavasam to learn from him. Thus began his long association with Bharatanatyam.
Along with classes in Adavas and acting, Sarsa also trained extensively in music. Being from a family of musicians, she could quickly understand and reproduce brighos and accompaniments, leading her mentors to refer to her as their “tape recorder”. She sang in the performances of her master’s star disciples, and her melodious voice increased the appeal of the performance. He then initiated her into Nattuvangam and she became the first woman Nattuvanar to make her mark in the male-dominated world.
KJ Sarsa with his students photo credit: special arrangement
choreography for movies
She learned to choreograph dance sequences for films when she began setting with her mentor, who worked with popular dancer-actors such as Kamala, Vyjayanthimala and the Travancore Sisters. He got an opportunity to independently choreograph for films, but he dropped it due to his erratic work schedule. These experiences put him in good stead when he started Sarasalaya, an institution among the many schools of Bharatanatyam.
Though the torch-bearer of Wazuvoor Bani, she never hesitated to adapt to the changing times. A strict disciplinarian, Sarsa made sure that every student perfected the grammar of the art. He always emphasized the importance of form and technique.
Most of her students remember how Sarsalaya was like a second home, whose doors were always open for them to learn and walk to rehearse or even chat. The Sarasa teacher, as they called him, was an open-minded guru, who was also a caring parent. He gave freedom to improvise and interpret art without deviating from its traditional values. She believed in all-round training, which included music, nattuvangam, make-up and aharya (dress and jewellery). Talking about stage performance, he never compromised on aesthetics.
Showing the nuances of acting. photo credit: special arrangement
“It was this concern and care that made Sarasa love her students,” says Mina Logan, the late guru’s niece.
Sarsa also produced and choreographed more than 50 theatrical plays, and two of his productions, ‘Shakuntalam’ and ‘Vikramorvasiyam’, won the Swarna Kamal Award at the Kalidas Samaroh in Ujjain.
A recipient of several awards and honors, including being appointed by Jayalalithaa as the Honorary Director of the Department of Bharatanatyam at the Tamil Nadu Government Music College. But what mattered more to Sarsa was the love of his students, who spread his name and work around the world.
for the teacher, lovingly
Shanmuga Sundaram | photo credit: Ave Varghese
Every year Shanmuga Sundaram has been organizing and conducting the tribute festival, Sarasa Natya Mala. It is his way of expressing gratitude to a teacher who guided him in his life’s journey. He was 21 when he came from Namakkal to learn Bharatanatyam. Seeing his passion, she immediately agreed to train him without Gurudakshina. He keeps Sarsalaya running by conducting classes in Chennai and also in other countries like Germany, Switzerland, Amsterdam and Malaysia.
This year marks the 10th edition of the festival, and will be held today and tomorrow from 5 pm at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore, with performances by KJ Sarsa’s senior disciples Shrekala Bharat, Urmila Satyanarayana, Selja, Lavanya Shankar and Divyath Arun . , Chitra Vishweshwaran is the chief guest on the inaugural day.
Sarsa Memorial Award (6.30 pm) DV Kanakadurga, senior Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi singer; Senior dancer Anand Shankar Jayant; and Nattuvanar Kuttalam M. Selvam. Anand Shankar Jayant will present ‘Thyagaraj Ramayanam – Ekaharya’ (7 pm).
On the second day, ‘Nartaka Natyam’, will be performed by male dancers: Shanmuga Sundaram; a. Lakshmanaswamy, VP Dhananjayan, Ramli Ibrahim and A. Janardan.
Critics from Chennai write on classical music and dance.
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