BENGALURU: Think Kathak, think Dr Maya Rao. On September 1, the seventh death anniversary of the Kathak exponent, her daughter and dancer Madhu Nataraj put together an e-tribute in the form of videos, all of which were compiled by Rao’s students. This also included some of Rao’s choreography. “Students from various batches, including her first one in 1964, were part of the tribute, sharing stories and memories they have with Ma,” says Nataraj, director of Natya Institute in Bengaluru.
Dr Rao carved herself a niche in the world of dance, and was a pioneer in Kathak choreography. In fact, she is credited for having brought Kathak to South India. She opened her dance school, Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography in Malleswaram in 1987, where she trained several batches of students, many of whom have gone on to make it big in the dance world.
With several photos, videos and anecdotes of Rao over the years, students from across continents spoke about her persona, grace and generosity. “It was overwhelming to hear from them and see how many lives Ma has touched over the years. Some of her students from 40 years ago remembered her and shared how she transformed their lives. My mother made a complete artiste out of them,” Nataraj says.
In an Instagram live, Nataraj also shared the life story of her mother in a segment known as ‘Remembering Maya Didi’, which was co-hosted by dance icon Dr Anita Ratnam. “Ma’s dance and her teaching is my whole memory. I had the closest relationship with her. It was amazing to learn through her and her fellow artistes. I take pride in observing how she used to deal with various situations, and how she conducted herself. Through these videos, there weren’t any new discoveries, but it was wonderful to hear about her generosity and artistic brilliance,” says Nataraj.
In one of the Instagram photos, Nataraj shared a picture of her standing next to Rao’s chair, which she captioned: “I am standing next to “Her Chair” which I got custom made 12 years ago and she loved it. Only she can sit on it. (sic)” On the occasion, the chair was wrapped in Rao’s favourite yakshagana saree which was gifted to her by the Keremane Shivananda Hegde family, three generations of Yakshagana artiste who studied at Natya. “There are many gurus who are respected but not loved. Fortunately, Ma was both loved and well-respected,” she says.