Prominent Personalities
TANJORE QUARTET
The four brothers from Thanjavur, known as the Tanjore Quartet— Chinniah, Ponniah, Sivanandam, and Vadivelu—officially codified Bharatanatyam in the eighteenth century, turning it from a purely indigenous art form to an organized performance. They were connected to the royal courts of Thanjavur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mysore and descended from the dancing tradition of the Brihadishvara temple in Thanjavur.
They were the first to codify teachings known as adavus (fundamental steps and the many categories of rhythm patterns) necessary for the performance pattern of Bharatanatyam. They were in charge of organizing and determining the performance sequence of the various pieces of the repertory. They establish the following order.
Melaprapti, Alarippu, JatisHwaram, Shabam, Swarajati, Chauka varnam, Padam, Javali, and Tillana are some examples of these words. Additionally, they created a number of pieces for each category set to various ragas and talas (rhythmic structures). Their native language, Telugu, was used in the compositions, which were addressed to their family deities, Sri Brihadishvara and Brihannayaki, as well as the kings and ministers who supported them and the various gods they had worshipped while traveling.
They all were performed by them, gaining them widespread acclaim and a solid reputation. As seated doyens of art, they were invited by the royal patrons of Thiruvananthapuram and Mysore to promote the arts in those cities, and the king also helped by organizing performances in all the temples.
The four brothers received seven years of rigorous training in Carnatic music from the famous Muttuswami Dikshitar of the Musical Trinity. They made their debut in Tanjavur’s royal court. They wrote a number of Keertanas and Tanavarnams under the names Guruguhadasa, Gurguhabhakta, and Gurguhamurti. They studied music extensively before receiving Bharatanatyam instruction from their father Subbarayan and grandfather Gangaimuthu.
They developed the dance performance pattern after learning the finer points of the art’s theory and practice. The brothers were granted the title “Bharata Sreshtar” after their debut and were complimented and blessed by their master, Muttusvami Dikshitar. The monarch honored them by giving them several presents, including a palanquin, and named them the court musicians.
Among the brothers, Ponniah composed several Tanavarams, Keertanams, Melaprapti, Alarippu, Jatishwaram, Shabdam, Swarajati, Chauka Varnam, Padams, Javali, Tillana, Daru, Swarapadam, etc., some of which are dedicated to various deities and others were dedicated to Maratha rulers of Thanjavur like Serfoji Raja II Bhonsle, Pratapasimha Bhonsle, and Amarasimha Bhonsle.
In honor of his patron, Krishna Raja Wodeyar, the King of Mysore, Chinniah wrote a number of compositions that are identical. Sivanandam wrote music for Sivaji Raja and was renowned for being a talented instructor to many aspiring dancers.
The youngest of the Quartet brothers, Vadivelu, worked under Maharaja Swati Tirunal in the Travancore royal court. He made the most significant contribution to instrumental music. He was honored by Swati Tirunal with an ivory violin, which is still on display in the Quartet’s family home in West Main Road, Thanjavur. Together, Maharaja Swati Tirunal and Vadivelu created dance and music pieces, as well as dance compositions with parallel translations into Tamil, Telugu, and Sanskrit.
The four brothers had a sizable student following and were master conductors (nattuvangam) of the Bharatanatyam recital. Famous nattuvannars, Pandanainallur Meenakshisundaram Pillai and Chennai Nelliappa Nattuvanar were the sons-in-law and students of Mahadeva Nattuvanar, the son of Sivanandam.
N. DANDAYUDHAPÄNI PILLAI
Karaikal Natesa Dandayudhapâni Pillai was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, he is known as one of the leading exponents of the classical dance of Bharatanatyam. On 14 July 1921 in Karaikal, he started training in music under his father as a musician known as A. K. Natesa Pillai of the Union Territory of Puducherry but later switched to Bharatanatyam and his grandfather Learned under who was a teacher of dance style. He authored many compositions for Bharatanatyam and also trained many students. Among them Sri Vidya, J.Jayalalithaa, Hema Rajagopalan, Suganthi Sadayane, Nayana Shenoy, Adyar K.Lakshman, Uma Muralikrishna, Vijayalakshmi Shetty-Ahuja, Jayalakshmi Alva, and Geeta Chandran are notable.
He has been a dance choreographer of many films in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi such as Raja Guruvu, Man-Mauji, Chhaya, Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke, Sri Kalahastiswara Mahatyam and Bhai-Bhai. He also founded a dance academy Sri Ram Nata Niketan in Chennai in 1967. He is appreciated for his crisp dancing styles and extreme perfection in performing adavus. He has composed many nritta items like Jathiswaram and tillanas that are very popular amongst the dancers used for Bharatanatyam dances. He also joined Kalakshetra as a teacher where he taught for many years. The Government of India honored him with the Padma Shri’s fourth highest civilian honour in 1971 for his contribution to dance.
MEENAKSHI SUNDARAM PILLAI
He came from a technical line of Bharatanatyam. He was a great däsiattam teacher and with the revival of Bharatanatyam, he came to the forefront. His ancestry can be traced back to Subhanaya Nattuvarnar, the great-grandson of Chinnaya. He trained many devadâsis. His pupil Shantha Rao says in her book that she had to wait for hours for his arrival. He had to finish his puja being a very devoted man. He demanded hard work from his pupils and at the same time he showed understanding and concern towards them. His choreography needed dancers of vigorous style without which däsiattam loses its beauty. Pandannallur school dominates today only because of him.
RUKMINI DEVI ARUNDALE
Rukmini Devi Arundale, the famous dancer of Bharatanatyam, was born on 29
February 1904 in a Brahmin family in Madurai. Her arrival on the dance scene in the year 1935 opened a new chapter in the history of Bharatanatyam. She is known for reviving the Indian classical dance. The credit for advancing Indian dance art and taking it to new heights goes to Rukmini Devi. When she started learning ballet, she was advised to learn her own classical Indian dances. Back in India, she started her coaching in Bharatanatyam from Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, Mylapore Gouri Amma and Muthu Kumar Pillai. Thus at the very outset she received the best of Bharatanatyam training. When she decided to start her own academy, ‘Kalakshetra’, these great gurus assisted her in flourishing the academy by training the pupils at Kalakshetra.
She married Dr. George Arundale in 1920. He was an educationist. With him, she traveled in Europe giving lectures on Indian culture. She gave her first public performance in March 1936. She corrected the theory and practice of the dance and the music and a significant revivalist movement began. The instruments like the bagpipe and clarionet were replaced by vina and flute; the costumes were designed artistically with due regard to the aesthetic color combinations replacing the pyjamas. She also chose the exquisite traditional jewelry and ornaments that created an overall beauty of aharyabhinaya.
At Kalakshetra, great Sanskrit scholars assisted her in the studies of the Natya Sastra treatises. She correlated the theory and practice of dance and music. The costumes were designed artistically and the right exquisite traditional jewelry and ornaments were decided and fixed. This was to create an overall beauty to the Aharya Abhinaya. Emphasis was laid on the selection of the padams, which highlighted the spiritual aspect of the contents, bringing in a sharp focus on the religious aspect of the art.
Training at Kalakshetra is rigorous and emphasis is lead on the correct movements and total training. Apart from the art of nattüvangam, the theoretical and practical knowledge of both music and dance is taught. This makes it one of the outstanding institutions in India and therefore gained a reputation as an international dance-center. The dance-dramas like Kumärasambhavam, Gita Govinda, Ramayana, Rukmini Kalyänam, and many more are highly imaginative.
These follow the classical tradition and form an important landmark in the history of classical dance.
The credit for identifying a genre of Bharatanatyam, also known as Sadir, goes to E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi, who elevated it to international heights. She gained prominence as a Bharatanatyam dancer and was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha. It is believed that in 1977, Morarji Desai gave her the idea to nominate her for the post of President but she politely declined the post. She was awarded the fellowship of Padma Bhushan in 1956 and Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1967 for her contribution to Indian dance arts.
BÄLASARASWATI
Thanjavur Balasaraswati is an Indian dancer known for Bharatanatyam, classical dance. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1958 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1949, the third and second-highest civilian honors given by the Government of India.
In 1971, she was honored with the Sangeeta Kalasikhamani Award of the Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. Balasaraswati was born on 13 May 1914 in Madras Presidency, British India. Her ancestor Pammal was a musician and dancer. His grandmother, Viña Dhanmal is considered one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. Her mother, Jayammal was a singer. She is the only artist to have arrived directly in line and tradition of the dancers at the Tanjore court.
She was the first woman in Calcutta in 1937 to perform her traditional style for the first time outside South India. She is the first Indian dancer to be showered so profusely with honors in India and abroad. She received several drama awards in India including the President’s Award from the Sangeet Natak Akademi (1955).
Padma Vibhushan (1979) from the Government of India for distinguished national service, Sangita Kalanidhi from the Madras Music Academy, South India’s highest award for musicians (1973). Bengali film director Satyajit Ray made a documentary film on Balasaraswati Par Bala (1979).