MY FESTIVAL -- THE DHANANJAYANS
We go back to our Kalakshetra days
For us the December festival is an occasion to meet old friends and classmates, especially from abroad, at the festival venues, like Kalakshetra, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, the Music Academy and Narada Gana Sabha.
Unfortunately, the excitement of listening to sangeeta kutcheri or seeing natya performances went away with the 1950s and '60s.
The December art festival season is forever linked for us with our Kalakshetra days. We were participants in the Kalakshetra's Art Festival since 1953.
We can still feel the excitement of December coming — the dance drama productions, rehearsals, being spared the rigour of classroom work, students and teachers working together under one roof and direct interaction with Rukmini Devi. Also the Panchami Hall in the old Theosophical Society campus at Adyar.
There was the thrill of getting close to great vidwans, sometimes playing the tanpura for maestros like M.D.Ramanathan, Budaloor Krishnamurthy or D. Pasupathi, or carrying the mridangam of Palakkad Mani Iyer or Palani Subramaniam Pillai and so on.
Then there was the beautiful thatched theatre. It was decorated with tender coconut leaves, and we learnt to make palm leaf artefacts for the stage and surroundings. The Art Festival canteen managed by students and teachers of the Besant Theosophical Hostel was another source of fun.
As youngsters, the Art Festival taught us so much. It was an unforgettable experience of listening and watching good art forms and artistes, for hours together.
Outside Kalakshetra, we would occasionally walk up to the Mylapore P.S. High School ground for the Music Academy's festival.
We attended performances of great artistes like Kamala Laxman, Balasaraswathi and others. Since I (Dhananjayan) could not afford to buy tickets, I depended on someone to offer a complimentary or share a member's pass. Walking to the venues in a group was part of the fun. It took only 15 minutes to walk to Mylapore. Now one cannot think of walking or returning late night. Even by car it takes 30 to 60 minutes.
One great thing was, the halls were always full, be it the Music Academy, Rasika Ranjini Sabha or Tamizh Isai Sangam. Those days, people did not hesitate to buy tickets. We think these mad, mad Madras festivals are becoming monotonous.
The sabhas are innumerable, and with awards galore, the felicitation functions are becoming a farce.
(As told to Anjana Rajan)
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