A Dakshinamurthi who lived up to his name
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K.N. Dakshinamurthi, credited with laying the foundations of the Bharatanatyam scene in the Capital, passed away recently. Dancers pay tribute to a great guru.
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A friend and guide: Guru K.N. Dakshinamurthy.
As we remember Guru K.N. Dakshinamurthi, the senior Bharatanatyam guru who passed away in the Capital a few weeks ago, his contribution to the performing arts scene stands out all the more in the context of when he came to Delhi from Tamil Nadu, in the late 1960s, an era when communication between different parts of the country was not easy.
Dakshinamurthi, who was the younger brother of the celebrated nattuvanars and dance gurus K.N. Dandayudhapani Pillai and Pakkiriswami Pillai, was essentially a mridangam artiste. His command over the intricacies of rhythm helped him to master the art of Bharatanatyam from his brothers.
It was Dakshinamurthi, recall old-timers, who created an atmosphere for Bharatanatyam in Delhi when there were very few gurus teaching the art. Certainly his was the only full-fledged institution. Natya Kalalayam, through which he trained over 1000 disciples, was initially run by Pakkiriswami till the latter left the city.
Human qualities
Dancers who came into contact with him are unanimous in their appreciation of Guru Dakshinamurthi's human qualities.
Recalls Geeta Chandran, who trained under Swarna Saraswati before shifting to his tutelage, "He gave me the confidence to take up dance as a profession. When I had to take that very crucial decision, he assured me, `I will come to your house every day for three hours.' He forced me to take classes too. I was very diffident at the time, but he said, `No, you must teach. I'll be there for you.' I feel so humble and so obliged. It wasn't just how to move the hands and legs, he gave me his whole profession."
Points out Sindhu Mishra, "Once a student was at a certain stage, he would never impose his will. He gave us the liberty to do as we liked." As Deputy Secretary of the Sahitya Kala Parishad, Sindhu found time for lessons hard to come by, but she recalls, "He would call up and shout at me, `Come and learn. I will die soon!' All gurus tend to get insecure as their disciples become independent. But Guruji was not like that. Once when I gave a show for which I got good press but he was criticised for the music, I was shattered. But he didn't mind, and didn't even listen to the people who tried to use this episode to turn him against me. He said, `She's my student, I will always support her.' I was so lucky to have him as a guru."
Agrees Geeta, "The petty politics of dance never affected him." When she decided to change over to Guru V.Krishnamurthi, he was initially upset, she says, "but he never cut off from me. He was an outstanding teacher, and a friend till the end. In his last days he used to have breakfast with us almost every day."
Being a guru
Mohiniattam dancer Bharati Shivaji, who also performed Bharatanatyam in the 1970s, and was a disciple of Lalita Shastri before coming to Guru Dakshinamurthi, recalls how he shaped her attitude.
"He was very magnanimous. The annual Natya Kalalayam shows were like a marriage in the family. He would spend a lot to make his students comfortable. There are very few gurus like this. Later when we also became gurus, I found it very inspiring."
Sonal Mansingh, whom Guru Dakshinamurthi accompanied as nattuvanar in the early years, remembers him as a "very effusive, very forthcoming" person. Today she is relieved that as Sangeet Natak Akademi Chairperson she could sanction a discretionary grant to the ailing guru in his last days, who, by all accounts, lived up to his name - an epithet of Lord Shiva as the Guru.
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