Devoted dance guru of Kalakshetra
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His life achieved meaning and contentment at Kalakshetra. And the future will be dedicated to dance, teaching students, says RUPA GOPAL.
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Guru Janardhan his students...
TO HAVE devoted one's entire life to a cause is a stupendous act by itself. When the devotion pertains to an art like dance, the act achieves cult status. This is the case of A. Janardhanan, who retired from the Kalakshetra Foundation recently. Born in Kerala in 1942, Janardhanan is the son of Chandu Panicker, the famous Kathakali exponent. He says, "Athai (Rukmini Devi) had gone to Kerala and found Kathakali most inspiring. She wanted to introduce it in Kalakshetra and so met my father. He first sent his disciple to teach here. Kathakali was made compulsory for all Bharatanatyam students so that they could imbibe its inherent graceful movements. My father then came to live here as `asan' (teacher). He did not want to bring me here, he was very strict, and I was scared of him'.
Fate of course had already laid its plans for this young man. Rukmini Devi had by then started working on the Ramayana series, and all the stalwarts like Mysore Vasudevachar, Tiger Varadachari, Asan, etc. were already present on the campus. Rukmini Devi needed two small boys for roles in the dance dramas. Janardhanan's brother wrote a letter to Rukmini Devi requesting that Janardhanan be taken to Kalakshetra. "Athai scolded my father for not bringing me earlier. She sent a telegram asking me to come at once. The train ticket was Rs. 12 for Madras. I had never before left my village, but I was off in a flash. I was also terrified of my father. When I first saw athai I thought I was seeing a `devathai' (goddess). I did not know Tamil, but she gently explained to me that I must now look after my father and be a good student. I stayed in the hostel and earned a scholarship for two years, and later my father retired at the age of 89,'' recalls a nostalgic Janardhanan.
He gets further emotional: "Athai was my mother, she treated me like her own son. I learnt everything from her, its all in my head, nothing documented as such. I try to teach my students all that I learnt from her. I have a 44-year-old association with Kalakshetra — music, Sanskrit, theory, dance — all the teaching is intertwined.
Janardhanan is a rare dance teacher today. His savings are nil, his honours are his cherished memories of Rukmini Devi, and the education she gave him. His life has achieved meaning and contentment at Kalakshetra. Life outside these ideal environs will probably be difficult to imagine for him, as he has known nothing else.
Over the years, Janardhanan has danced in all the dance dramas produced by athai and the institute since 1959, and toured with the troupe to West and East Europe, Australia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Far East and America.
Memorable as Ravana.
He has played Rama in the series, Buddha, Kuchela, Pandya king in `Meenakshi Vijayam,' Bhishma, in Rukmini Kalyanam, etc. He has also choreographed `Karna Sapatham' in Kathakali style, and Sri Purandara in Kannada, both of which are regularly staged.
Though now 62, Janardhanan still delights audiences with fine cameo roles in the dance dramas — roles that combine dancing ability and grace with a fine sense of humour imbued in the role.
As Ravana in `Maha Pattabhishekam,' as Ravana in `Choodamani Pradanam,' as Asura in `Kurma Avataram' (the latter two roles are fantastically portrayed), as Dasaratha in `Rama Vana Gamanam,' each role is pivotal to the play, and stays in the mind of the viewer.
Even as our talk was going on Janardhanan was supervising the rigorous rehearsals for the annual dance festival and the students were being put through their paces.
Perfectionist
He demands perfection. This is evident in all their dance portrayals. The students are to be perfect, the costumes perfect, and the ornaments finely matched; even the anklets present uniformity. It is a complete visual presentation of the highest order possible. He points out the stage dιcor at the theatre designed by athai — the sides are hung with simple beige sackcloth so that focus will be on the dance only, and the effect is lovely.
Janardhanan has earned recognition from the Kanchi Sankaracharyas and other dance institutions. He has also been the external examiner for dance at various universities, both in India and abroad.
Janardhanan honed the students to perfection, to stage a series of dance dramas in the city and all over India, in this the birth centenary year of Rukmini Devi.
It is difficult to imagine a Kalakshetra without this dance guru — a soft-spoken, stern teacher, an accomplished dancer, a man with no great aspirations but trying to achieve the best in his students.
Doubtless, his future shall be involved with dance — anything else would be unthinkable for him, and for dance lovers.
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