THE great vidwan of yesteryear, Pandanallur Meenakshisundaram Pillai, was honoured recently by the Tapasya Kala Sampradaya dance school as part of his 54th death anniversary. The event was held in the presence of renowned dancer Vyjayanthimala Bali on Saturday at the Music Academy. The tribute began with Bharatnatyam performances by two senior and well-known students of the dance school, Shilpa and Shweta S Raghavan. The performance turned out to be a welcome break from the trend of innovations in creative expression that have been the mantra recently. Shilpa's and Shweta's performance was of the traditional Bharatnatyam, the way it is, pure, graceful and very well-coordinated. This aspect could also be felt in the music. The performances asserted Tapasya’s values and objectives of preserving the traditional, classical dance form and spreading its roots.
After Indu Varma, Director, Tapasya Kala Sampradaya and Chinnaya Sivakumar, great grandson of Meenakshisundaram Pillai, went down memory lane remembering the guidance and passion of gurus like KP Kittappa Pillai. Vyjayanthimala Bali was close to tears as she recalled how she had grown up watching the great vidwans take control and been inspired by them. “I started to dance after looking at them and decided that I must keep up the tradition,” she said. And admiring the school’s aim to preserve the classical Bharatnatyam, she added, “there is so much beauty in this traditional dance form, in its abhinayas, its music, everything. It is good to also see youngsters doing their part to preserve and cherish it.”
expresso@epmltd.com