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A potential performer

Combining Karagattam, Silambattam and Bharathanatyam effectively

PHOTO: K. GANESAN

SKILFUL Mastering the martial art

Though women have begun to come out of the closet, not many happen to be from the middle class section of society. Mostly the upper class women in urban areas are aware of their rights and asserting their individuality. A middle class woman perhaps still fears social backlash or is afraid of losing family support. Nonetheless, the Indian woman has taken up multiple roles as an entrepreneur or an entertainer, as a leader or an employee. But can a middle class girl can really deal with all traditional fetters and excel in every field she ventures into?. B.Tamil Thendral's story says it all.

Breaking free from traditional shackles, Ms.Tamil Thendral, a 20-year-old music college student, has carved a niche for herself in the competitive world not in a single field but in many including Silambam, Bhrathanatyam etc.

Award

Recently, she received the covetous Young Talented Artist Award and a cash prize of Rs.10,000 from the Governor Surjit Singh Barnala for her excellent performance in Silambam at the State level competition organised by the South Zone Cultural Centre in Thanjavur to promote traditional art forms. Apparently Tamil Thendral is the only woman artist at the State level to receive the award for Silambam, traditional martial art form. While her hands coordinate with the stick and its movements, her legs and eyes takes positions and target the opponent to wield him down. "Being a daughter of a Silambam master, I started learning the art at the age of three. I practice daily two hours under the guidance of my father-cum-guru at Race Course grounds," she reveals.

Accolades and rewards started pouring in even when she was just four and a half years old. Ms. Thendral gave an exclusive interview on Doordharsan and All India Radio and performed Silambam with her tender hands to captivate the audience.

Multifaceted

"Silambam (stick-fencing) is a wonderful sport and I love to hold and play with the hardened bamboo stick," she says. Besides, Silambam, Ms. Thendral has received many prizes and rewards for her Yoga performance, a black belt holder in Karate and she is at ease in fencing also. Besides, she also excels in all folk art forms such as karagattam, mayilattam, oyilattam and thappatam. The list does not stop here. Ms. Thendral is a singer, orator, actor, and Bharathanatyam dancer. "I owe a lot to Bala Nandakumar for Bharathanatyam, and Ponnammal, who gave a shape to the orator in me," she says with much reverence. "Though I have won many medals, recitations and cash awards, I pride the one received at the hands of director K.S. Ravikumar during a national Bhrathanatyam competition in Thiruchengode Engineering College," she fondly remembers.

Classical arena

Ms. Thendral was also selected at the `Hero Honda's Naalaiya Natchathram' at the regional level and made her debut in silver screen which she soon disowned to pursue her interest in Classical arena. "I do not want my daughter's artistic capabilities to get confined to the four walls of a house," says her father P. Balakrishnan, who misses no opportunity to urge his daughter to shine either as a star in the tinsel world or prepare for the Union Public Service Commission examination and become an IAS officer. However, Ms. Thendral's love for classic music and dance has made her join undergraduate degree in music and she plans to complete her M.Phil. A determined and successful winner, Ms. Thendral, also always wishes to be different from the crowd. And for being so this time she has combined Silambam, Karagam and Bharathanatyam, into one and performed on stage for five minutes at a stretch. While her head has the karagam, her hands hold the Silambam and legs perform Bharathanatyam steps. Now, she is under rigorous training to increase the period of the `three-in-one performance' into a half-an-hour programme.

With strong support from her parents, sister and brother, Ms. Thendral plans to continue Bharathanatyam even post-marriage.

S.S.KAVITHA

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