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Photos: Bhagya Prakash K.

PATH OF DEVOTION With an inner desire to pay tribute to his guru Rukmini Devi, Prof. M.R. Krishnamurthy came back to his Bangalore

“Rukmini athai was so perfect in her movements and insisted on perfection in everything. The only thing she used to tell me constantly was to practice, practice and practice.” That he did obediently for 14 long years at the famous gurukul of Kalakshetra. “It taught me discipline and humility. And athai always used to tell me: ‘Never believe you have learnt the art— the minute you do, you are finished as an artiste.’”

After finishing his post-graduate course in Bharatanatyam, he also started teaching students and became a Professor at Kalakshetra, Chennai. His regular day, he remembers, use to start at 4.30 a.m. in the morning with first half of the morning busy learning and dancing and the latter half of the day teaching students and taking music lessons.

Later as a part of Annie Besant’s Theosophical Movement, when Rukmini athai travelled all over the world as an ambassador of Indian culture, Kittu sir accompanied her to perform in over more than 40 countries as part of Kalakshetra’s classical productions. He played important roles in several episodes of the Ramayana.

The late C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian governor general, on seeing one such episode had remarked, “not only the dance form, but the artistes who performed on stage must be preserved as temple treasures.”

After the demise of Rukmini Devi, he was convinced that art influenced human perception and action, and Athai had established the institution Kalakshetra to preserve and re-invent tradition and to create an awareness of the sacredness of life. With an inner desire to pay tribute to his guru, and with a view to spread this art form in Karnataka, he came back to his hometown, Bangalore, in 1990 and Kalakshiti, was founded in 1991.

Today Kalakshiti, nestling sedately in the busy Basavangudi area is the ideal place for nurturing young artistes. Eager young students and artistes flock the institution not only from Bangalore, but also from other parts of Karnataka. There are students who come from far off countries too. Led by Kittu sir himself, with the support of Rukma Narain and Shobha, the institution has laid the foundation forstudents, firmly on classical lines imparted by Rukmini Devi.

Perfection is given emphasis and the tradition is never compromised. On entering the portals of this revered institution, one is put through a six-year course, demanding and rigorous in nature. During the course of the training, besides getting a sound knowledge and understanding of the theory of dance, the dancers are exposed to the best in dance through workshops and lecture demonstrations conducted by experts.

Since Kittu sir is a firm believer of a holistic approach, a course in Carnatic vocal music is a must for every aspiring dancer. In his peculiar mixture of Tamil, English and Kannada, Kittu sir explains what angers him the most — Bharatanatyam dancers doing adavus without the characteristic firmness. “They hold hands like this ma... limply. It looks horrible. Ashta konalaa idhey,” he says, revulsion writ all over his face. The ideals for which Rukmini Devi stood for, is always reminded and reinforced here. And then he demonstrates the right way to perform an adavu. You can only marvel at the sudden strength in his arms and the passion in his eyes.

Uncompromising on quality, Kalakshiti has already made a mark as an institution of high calibre in the performing arts. “The art of dance is divine and has to be held high. Its rasa (essence/flavour) should uplift the human being to the spiritual level and not bring them down to lower levels of materialism and lust. New inventions and choreography can be made according to changing times but care should be taken that we do not compromise on the basic traditional framework and uplift the human soul to the spiritual level.”

Kittu sir speaks of how Rukmini Athai dedicated her entire life to popularise the Bharatanatyam, which was considered a low and vulgar art in India during the early Twenties. “She recognised the beauty and spiritual value of this art form and summoned the courage to learn it herself, despite strong public protest. And people like me, her direct students, should uphold this throughout our lives and transfer it to the present generation,” he says.

“Can you change Tyagaraja Keertanai to a disco form or can the seven swaras undergo a change? The same principle applies to dance too. Everything has to be according to the prescribed template within which one can experiment. But the edifice should be strong and the original art should be treasured.”

It’s a passion that will never go out of him for it was drilled deep into him, from when he was very young, by the legendaryRukmini Devi Arundale. “Whatever little I know today is all because of her... I am and have always been in awe of her...!” he says, as he adoringly looks at the picture of the grand lady in his dance space.

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