An ode to Bharatnatyam

Dance is not just a form of entertainment. It is an education in itself”, opines Rajeshwari Sainath, the renowned Bharatanatyam proponent. The recipient of the prestigious Nritya Choodamani award, Rajeshwari has been practising Bharatnatyam for 43 years now. In 2013, she became the first Indian to feature in TEDx.

The danseuse talks to Young Hans about her challenging journey, her gurus and her hopes for the next generation. “Though I am from Tanjore, I was brought up in Hyderabad”, she says as she recollects her parents’ contribution to her career choice. “My father was a great singer and my mother an ardent lover of dance”. As the disciple of Indira Rajan, Rajeshwari took to serious dancing at the tender age of nine.

Though she considered Bharatnatyam her primary education, she went on to study law from Osmania University. “Studies were my second priority. I would often run to Chennai to learn Bharatnatyam” Her passion took a significant turn in 1995 when she was brought under the tutelage of the famous percussionist Karaikudi Mani. “He taught me mathematical techniques of rhythm not usually taught to dancers. It changed the vocabulary of Bharatnatyam”. She also received severe criticism for practising dance with such techniques as her detractors believed that the duo did not consider the limitations of the human body while improvising the art form.

Her love for different dance forms led her to perform thematic ballets in several languages. “My acquaintance with North Indian and English musicians further widened my horizons”, she says, as she recollects her memorable performance at the Sydney Opera House. “It was always my dream to set foot in the Opera House. I could never even think of performing there”.

Rajeshwari says she seldom wondered whether her passion was going to provide her any financial stability. “I was not sure I could take this up full time. I only knew this was all I wanted to do”, she asserts confidently. She, however, rues that children today are under severe stress and that parents see dance as just an extra-curricular activity that can be wished away even during the simplest of exams.

“They don’t understand that dance enhances the functioning of the body and the mind”, she says. Rajeshwari, who has also extensively studied the “Neuro-biology of dance” believes that art only aids in better studying. She firmly asserts that given absolute hardwork and determination, traditional dance can still be a fulfilling profession. “There is tremendous scope. Indian classical dance can be seamlessly blended with other dance forms and even Western music”.

Rajeshwari, during the course of interaction with her students’ parents, has noticed that the latter are in a constant panic mode and that they give little importance to creative arts. “Many of my students have successfully entered the IITs and IIMs. It is not in spite of dance, but in their case, because of it”, she says confidently. Most children talented in arts graduate from mediocre colleges with technical degrees instead of taking up what they are truly meant for”, she laments. “Art is sacrificed for academics”.

Rajeshwari urges the present generation to take up art forms but with caution. “Don’t get mesmerized by the glamour of dance. There is much more to it”, she stresses. Rajeshwari believes that the Indian dance forms have many takers even today. She is confident that the tradition will last and that it does not need any saviors. “I derive mileage out of Bharatnatyam. It is not the other way round”, she says, although adding that the present generation has written away traditional art forms as the older generation’s memory.

Self analysis and personal contentment are very important in this field, she believes. “I was considered for the Nritya Choodamani four years before I actually received it. Had I got it anytime before I thought I was worth it, I wouldn’t have been happy”. An artist comes across a lot of praise and criticism, she says, but adds that it is very important for the younger generation to know which to keep and which to discard.

By:Mythili Sankara