Shyamala Mohanraj: Her Art & Values

When I first read the great T.Balasaraswati's biography by her son-in-law Douglas Knight in the year of its release (2010-11, if my memory serves me right), I found that she had a student named Shyamala Mohanraj from Jaffna, Sri Lanka. As I was reading the book, I simultaneously watched several videos of dancers following the Bala Bani to visually experience what I was reading. That is when I chanced upon Shyamala Amma's videos. I was stunned at her dedication and steadfastness in the few videos of her that I watched. Whether it was a Jatiswaram or a Thillana, there was so much அழுத்தம் (azhuttam)! (I seriously do not know how to translate this into English but 'profoundness in application' or 'ஆழ்ந்தறியும் தன்மை' could correlate to my usage). When it came to Padams or Shabdams or for that matter any piece, there was an intense spiritual fervour and 'sowkhyam' (blissfulness). Her dancing should be described as an activity that is filled with soulfulness (again there is no substitute for the Tamil word 'ஆத்மார்த்தமான'!) that bewitches the beholder.

Ever since I started watching her videos, I wanted to know more about her, watch more of her art and be aware of her values that she so carefully nurtured throughout her life. After her passing in 2015 which left a deep void, I was even more interested to experience Shyamala Amma's art. Some years later, I observed that 3rd October 2021 was her 80th Birthday and I immediately thought I should learn more about this great dancer and write an article summarizing her art and values. I consider it my greatest fortune that Shri.Aniruddha Knight ,grandson of Balamma and student of Shyamala Amma helped me greatly in my effort. Five months of intense preparations that involved interviews with more than 15 people around the world who were associated with Shyamala Amma culminated in the completion of the article. I must thank Shyamala Amma's senior disciple Neela Bhaskar and foremost American disciple Laurissa Vibhuti who worked very hard with me to ensure that several important inputs were provided for the article. This article was very hard to do and surely was an acid test for me. Of course, I strongly believe that everything is Balamma's doing and it happens only with her blessings! The article was originally published in Vaak Magazine.

Her Foray into Dance

3rd October, 2021 marks the 80th Birthday of the late Bharatanatyam dancer and guru Shyamala Mohanraj. A senior disciple of T.Balasaraswati, Shyamala lived a life dedicated to art. Born in 1941 at Jaffna, Sri Lanka, Shyamala was introduced to dance at the tender age of 4 by her father Nadaraja. Her first guru was Subbiah Pillai.  Coming from a Sri Lankan Tamil family that was keenly attracted to the performing arts, Nadaraja once witnessed a performance of the celebrated Balasaraswati and thus decided that his daughter would learn only from her. Arriving in Madras (Chennai) as a teenager of 15, her tutelage under Balasaraswati began.

Describing Balasaraswati as a firm but encouraging teacher, Shyamala explained in an interview to her American students that Bala used to narrate many stories and incidents of religious themes when Shyamala was a young student. The initial lessons with Bala were a daily affair and continued this way until her passing in 1984. She received lessons in Nritta from K.Ganesan, the son of Balasaraswati’s guru Kandappa Pillai. Shyamala also learnt Kathakali from the renowned Kathakali dancer Guru Gopinath, alias Perumanoor Gopinathan Pillai.

Although Shyamala learnt Bharatanatyam from Balasaraswati starting from the mid 1950s, her Arangetram took place when she was 36 years old on March 5th, 1978. More than two decades of rigorous learning prepared her for the event, which took place at an auditorium in Kanchipuram. It was preceded by special prayers at the Ammanakshi Amman temple, the very site of Bala’s own debut as a 7-year old in 1925. Located close to the Kamakshi Amman temple in Kanchipuram, the Ammanakshi Amman temple was considered important by several hereditary dancing families. Oral histories record that plenty of such families once resided in the vicinity of the shrine.

Karen Elliott, a student of Balasaraswati observed the Arangetram live. “I still remember the day when we went down to Kanchipuram with Balasaraswati and her daughter Lakshmi to watch the performance. After seeing the performance, Balamma was flying with happiness. A conversation followed in the car and Balamma announced that she intended to do everything within her means to support Shyamala’s dancing career” said Karen who wrote in her diary that Shyamala’s performance that day “was perfect and life-changing!”

Shyamala, who did well in her academics, wished to be a doctor. However, on her father’s insistence she chose to prioritize dance alongside her studies. Having completed her Masters in Science, she worked as a biology teacher at a school in Chennai simultaneously practicing, teaching and performing Bharatanatyam. During the 1970’s and 80’s, Shyamala taught dance to students at Balasaraswati’s Classical Bharata Natya School at the Madras Music Academy alongside her colleagues Nandini Ramani and Thirupampuram K.Ramiah.

Continuing Bala’s legacy

Bala’s grandson Aniruddha Knight, who was tasked with inheriting Bala’s rich legacy owes his solid grounding in the Bani to Shyamala’s dedicated dissemination across several years. He poignantly recalls how his mother and guru Lakshmi Knight had instructed him on her death bed to unfailingly continue his dance lessons from Shyamala.

Aniruddha found himself in a unique position, as he was the first male dancer (a biracial one at that) in an artistic family comprising eight generations of matriarchs who meticulously passed on art forms from one generation to the next. He stresses that gender has never been a barrier when it comes to accessing art in his family. Across the ages, Bharathanatyam has witnessed the evolution of rigid gender binaries when it comes to presenting dance and it has not been easy for Aniruddha to make his mark as a male dancer as he never changed the art form bequeathed to him by his grandmother and mother to suit gendered audience tastes. “Neither did Lakshmi nor Shyamala ever consider customizing the Bani for a male dancer. For this family, the art is always beyond the individual” he said. Shyamala also taught dance to her son Pranavan and other male dancers the same way as it was taught to her. 

Today, Aniruddha teaches the challenging Bani to several eager students. He said his teaching style is influenced by Shyamala who was a firm but patient teacher who corrected mistakes with a smile on her face. “Shyamala usually never allowed taking notes or recording classes. One had to learn through repetition and refinement. Shyamala learnt from Balamma through absorption as well – she watched other students dance and imbibed the lessons. Her nritta in particular was exceptional!” he said.

Aniruddha Knight, Balasaraswati's grandson

Diverse students

Leading a modest but culturally rich life, Shyamala took private Bharatanatyam lessons to several students who thronged her residence in Thiruvanmiyur, a residential neighbourhood in south Chennai. Apart from Chennai-based students, many Westerners learnt dance from Shyamala who generously shared her art with anyone who realized its worth. Multitasking between her day job and dance classes, Shyamala was a single mother who raised her son Pranavan, who went on to become a pilot and was also trained in dance by his mother. Her greatest source of strength was her mother Eswari who mostly lived with her at her home.

Vasugi Singh, a dancer from South Africa is one of Shyamala’s earliest students. Vasugi remembered her first trip to Madras as a teenager when she enrolled for dance lessons at the Madras Music Academy. She requested for private lessons with Shyamala who took her in readily. Vasugi described how her dance journey paved the way to understanding her roots and culture. “Coming from an Indian South African family that lived through the Apartheid and the resultant cultural boycott, Bharathanatyam was a way to reclaim my roots and learn more about my culture. Akka (Shyamala) played a great role in making me aware of religious scriptures and made me write notes on abhinaya to understand character portrayals. It must have been quite difficult to teach a student like me who had limited knowledge of Indian languages and classical music.  Yet, she tirelessly trained me and I had my arangetram in 1975 at Madras!” said Vasugi.

Shyamala Mohanraj with her student Vasugi Singh

Vasugi went on to become a pioneering performer and dance instructor in South Africa and established the KwaZulu Natal Dance Theatre. She also authored the book ‘Bharathanatyam: A Journey from India to South Africa’ which looks at the origins of Bharathanatyam in India and traces its socio-religious evolution in South Africa. Vasugi strongly believes that Balasaraswati’s legacy reached the shores of South Africa through Shyamala.

A thorough perfectionist

Shyamala’s son Pranavan described his dance lessons as long and tiring as Shyamala was a perfectionist in the truest sense. “She used to teach only the ‘Dhid-Dhid-Thai’ adavu for 45 minutes, until I was able to execute it. Another adavu that took many sessions to master was the ‘That-Thei-Tha-Ha’, which I did repeatedly until my body gave in!” he said.

Ranjini Menon first met Shyamala when she took dance lessons at the Music Academy. She swears by Shyamala’s teaching of Nritta, which she felt was extraordinary. “Shyamala had a keen eye when it came to identifying mistakes – it was almost instinctive. Through her expert corrections, I realized that fixing one mistake will consequently solve many mistakes that were committed as a result of that small mistake!  It could be a wrong posture, due to which a series of movements would go wrong. A particular part of the body would not have been in the right spot; it could be your shoulders or your back while doing araimandi. Through observation and instruction, she would instantly diagnose the root cause of the problem!” she said. Ranjini had the rare privilege of transitioning from a teenager to an adult performer and dance teacher through Shyamala’s continued tutelage across decades. Shyamala also taught dance to Ranjini’s daughters, who performed their arangetram in her presence.

Uma Balaji, another student of Shyamala explained that certain adavus were taught for more than 3 hours until the students gained complete control over them. This strengthening of basics prepared the student thoroughly for performing large pieces like Varnams and Jatiswarams. “She always said that one’s spine must be straight during araimandi and that was how Balamma would do it.” Uma also said Shyamala was an accessible teacher who was always available on the phone for any clarifications. “Her continued guidance even after the Music Academy days helped me stay in touch with dance.”

Shyamala Mohanraj performing a concert. Video uploaded by Karen Elliott.

Neela Bhaskar, one of Shyamala’s senior disciples, learnt from her for more than 15 years. Her lessons with Shyamala formed part of her daily routine. “Shyamala’s teaching style was passive. She taught with very less verbal communication. One could learn every nuance from her through her striking demonstrations. It was imperative for her that students learn dance from her as part of Balamma’s grand vision to propagate and transmit the style rather than for the purpose of a few stage performances. It was crucial that the student understood the value of the art and knew why they were present in the classroom.”

Freedom in the Bala Bani

Neela also busted the myth that traditional Banis produce artistes who are all similar. She went on to compare how even a Padam like Nithiraiyil Soppanathil had distinct flavours when performed by Shyamala and others like Lakshmi. “Shyamala would approach the piece with a girlish innocence and would expound the mood of a heroine who was sad that the hero played cruel jokes on her. Lakshmi Knight would perform the piece with more despondence; Lakshmi also accentuated the emotional quotient by masterfully tweaking the bhava of the music as she sang while performing! The outcome of abhinaya was different for each dancer when it came to executing such pieces, based on their personality. Of course, both the artistes are incomparable in their respective portrayals.” 

Shyamala performing Nithiraiyil and other pieces. Video by Karen Elliott.

Ranjini Menon also felt the same. “We are definitely not meant to be identical to each other. We are to maintain our unique soul and personality on stage. The Bani gave us all a solid foundation when it comes to technique but never made us lose ourselves in the process” she said.  

Shyamala would often say that Bala’s music was unparalleled and was integral to the upkeep of the tradition. She regularly demonstrated the closeness of the music with the dance and asked her students to learn music so that they could better appreciate what was taught. Neela fulfilled Shyamala’s desire by learning music from T R Murthy, a flautist and student of T Viswanathan.

Quality of the holy in Shyamala’s dance

Shyamala identified as a deeply spiritual person for whom Bharatanatyam was a means to express her faith and devotion. She was particularly attached to the worship of Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram, like her guru Balasaraswati. An event Shyamala held tremendously close to her heart was her dance offering before Nataraja atop the raised platform that houses the sanctum at Chidambaram. It was extremely significant for her as she waited a long time for the emotionally charged moment to arrive, making the arrangements through a temple priest known to her. Therefore, it is not surprising that some of Shyamala’s most creative and inspiring presentations include Enneramum Undhan Sannidhiyil and Vazhi Maraithirukkudhe from Gopalakrishna Bharati’s Nandanar Charitram.

Karen Elliott who observed Shyamala performing across decades felt that the innate bhava in Shyamala’s presentations saturated with age. “For Shyamala, the art was extremely sacred. The fluidity and the complexity with which her hands moved while performing Enneramum was amazing. When performing the line ‘thennam cholai thazhaikkum’, she would indicate the vast coconut groves and would elegantly switch to taking the coconut and breaking it open, pouring the contents as an offering to God! At that moment, she would harmoniously fill the music and rhythm with shapes making it a fulfilling visual and aural experience” she said.

As the years progressed, Shyamala became more inward-oriented and spiritually advanced in her approach to dance. After a certain point of time, she started declining many performance opportunities and worked towards spiritual fulfilment through dance.

Her Expertise in Vastu and Yoga

Shyamala’s other interests included the interdisciplinary study of Bharatanatyam and Vastu. She worked with world-renowned temple architect and Vastu expert V.Ganapati Sthapati to study and establish the correlation between Bharatanatyam mudras and Shilpa Shastra, among other topics of research. In January 1993, she presented a paper titled ‘The Soul of Dancing’ at the International Seminar on Mayonic Science and Technology organized by Vaastu Vedic Research Foundation, Madras.

When Shyamala worked with Ganapati Sthapati, she hosted several Westerners who came to India to learn Vastu from Sthapati. Shyamala was incredibly proud that she could act as a cultural ambassador and help them admire Indian temple architecture in all its glory. She personally led them on long temple tours across South India. Architect and Vastu educator Michael Borden and his wife Karen were close friends of Shyamala’s and experienced her warm hospitality whenever they visited Chennai. “I first met Shyamala when I went to India in 1998 to study Vastu with Ganapati Sthapati. It was my first time visiting India and Shyamala made sure I had a pleasant stay in her home. We had several wonderful exchanges when it came to discussing art and architecture. Shyamala was a true expert in her field and her dance had a lot of substance and depth, especially compared to a lot of other dancers who were flashy and all over the place. Shyamala also visited us in the United States and conducted a kolam drawing seminar which was well received.” said Michael.

Shyamala was a great practitioner of yoga and would often apply the principles of yoga in her dance. “My mother would never breathe through her mouth even while performing a 45-minute long varnam. She stressed on nasal breathing as an essential practice while dancing. She would ask students to keep an eye on their breath even when doing abhinaya. She often spoke about Bharatanatyam mudras and how they activate chakras in the body” said Pranavan. Because of her continued practice of yoga, she is known to have performed with a perfect araimandi even in her seventies despite suffering from health problems. She also felt that alignment, strength and endurance are vital for a dancer and the only way to achieve perfection is through regular sadhana. Pranavan said “Not many knew that she practiced dance every single day! She would put on a recording of a varnam or a padam and would practice in front of the mirror endlessly. This was her ritual even a few months before she died.”

A documentary on Shyamala titled ‘Atma Dasi’ was directed by Ukraine-based Kuchipudi and Ballet artiste Lenalaxmi Shatokhina. The documentary filmed in Spaces (a dance venue in Besant Nagar, Chennai) featured Shyamala and some of her long-time students like Pranathi Diwakar and Meera. Shyamala, who was in her late sixties, can be seen talking about her artistic values and principles. She also spoke about the significance of integrating yoga with her dance practice.

Students in the United States

Shyamala toured the United States several times in her dancing career. One of her main responsibilities there was to connect with the American students of Balasaraswati to work with them on their form and teach them new pieces. Shyamala also performed in the United States from time to time. Agnes Brenneman, a student of Bala, recounted one of Shyamala’s most memorable performances in 1987 at the International House, Berkeley. This was her maiden performance abroad. “Shyamala was a gifted performer who could floor audiences with her grace and richness in movement. I had the great opportunity to learn dance from Balasaraswati and Lakshmi Knight. They were usually accompanied by T.Viswanathan who helped with interpretation and translation. Shyamala preserved and retained the essence of Bala’s art. She was instrumental in making sure Bala’s students in the United States continued their training and practice after Bala’s passing.”

Shyamala with some of her American students

Laurissa Vibhuti, one of Shyamala’s foremost disciples, is responsible for meticulously archiving and preserving much of Shyamala’s work for future generations. At a time when videography was expensive and inaccessible to many in India, Laurissa along with Karen and Agnes took great efforts to film Shyamala’s dance. The few pictures and videos of Shyamala that exist today are the result of their hard work. The three women continue to work together to learn pieces and exchange ideas between themselves.

Hailing from Boulder, Colorado, Laurissa learnt dance from Shyamala during her trips to India. She also brought Shyamala to Boulder to teach dance to several American and Indian American students. When asked about her learning experiences, Laurissa stresses that for Shyamala, dedication to the integrity of the Bala tradition was of utmost importance. This included not changing anything that was passed on. “Shyamala told us that we needed to hold on to whatever was given to us. Tampering the form by adding even an extra flourish or embellishment was akin to feeding one’s ego. Shyamala taught us in a very subtle way at the beginning; there was no shoving of bhava, texture or mood in your face. We were to find meaning for what we were doing from within. I realized certain things about a poignant poetic verse she taught me only after two decades of dancing” she said. Shyamala also greatly encouraged Laurissa to teach dance. Today, Laurissa has several students who learn the Bani from her. Some have stayed on for more than two decades.

Laurissa highlighted some of Shyamala’s values when it came to art – introducing gimmicks in the name of “modernizing” dance was something Shyamala opposed vehemently. Shyamala, like Bala, was hesitant to teach dance to students outside the tradition. She believed that students needed to stick to a particular Bani in its entirety for their art to shine in true splendor. Laurissa explained that several Indian families in the United States would approach Shyamala to choreograph particular pieces or to simply learn one item to complete their Arangetram Margam. Shyamala tried fulfilling some of the requests hesitantly but would often politely decline.  

Shyamala’s long-term students from the United States include Colette de Gargnier-Rettner, Sonja Radvilla, Sophia Diaz, Durgamba Dakota Chavis among several others.

Shyamala demonstrating the art of drawing Kolams in America

Her Values and Ethics

Shyamala was a firm believer in the temple origins of Bharatanatyam. She was intensely respectful of the hereditary community of dancers and never failed to acknowledge their contributions to dance.  She admired the inherent aesthetic appeal and rustic sophistication characteristic of traditional Banis. Her thoughts are echoed through the name she chose for Laurissa Vibhuti’s dance school - “Koothambalam School of Devadasi Sadir”, “koothambalam” representing temple and “sadir” referring to the dance form practiced by hereditary women performers (or “devadasis”) that served as a precursor to modern-day Bharatanatyam.

In an interview to the Koothambalam School of Devadasi Sadir, Shyamala can be heard talking about the rampant commodification of dance. She felt that Bharatanatyam as an art form was increasingly becoming ‘commercialized’ and that the “divinity in dance was being substituted by entertainment that seeks to captivate audiences”. Another point expressed by Shyamala was that the talent of a dancer is judged by their physical appearance rather than their performance capabilities, alluding to the changing trends and beauty standards used as yardsticks to measure success. She goes on to say “it is not the external beauty that matters, but it is the internal beauty; the beauty in yourself that has to make people reflect! The stage is a place where the dancer has to experience a feeling beyond oneself, it is a place associated with enlightenment and transformation.”

When asked how she would define a great dancer, she said “A good dancer is someone whose footwork, expression, hand movements and overall technique are perfect. But a great dancer is someone who has the ability to transform into the character they are portraying. The effectiveness of the bhava depends on how much the dancer enjoys their own dance! You don’t dance for others but you dance for yourself. When I dance, I do not think of myself as an old lady. I try to become a Gopika who plays with Krishna or a pining heroine waiting for Shiva.”

Association with the students of K.P.Kittappa Pillai

Balasaraswati and K.P.Kittappa Pillai, the scion of the Tanjore Quartet, had utmost respect for one another. The Bala Bani and the Tanjore Bani, practiced by the students and descendants of Kittappa Pillai are connected in many subtle ways. Bala’s dance curriculum was uniquely conceptualized, as Bala learnt from Kandappa Pillai whose art was rooted in the sensibilities of the Tanjore Quartet but had a distinct flavour of its own. The cordial relations between the two great families and their students continue till this day.

Indu J Varma

Indu J Varma, a senior disciple of K.P.Kittappa Pillai is the director of Tapasya Kala Sampradaya, an organization set up in 1997. Tapasya played a great role in bringing together artistes, research scholars and students with the aim of researching and documenting India’s profound cultural and spiritual heritage. One of their most critical projects comprises a documentary film titled ‘Maraynduvarum Marabugal’ (translated as ‘Disappearing Traditions’) which extensively documented the dance traditions of several hereditary dance performers from various temple towns in Tamil Nadu including Thanjavur, Pandanallur, Thiruvarur and Thirukazhukundram. The film features several distinguished nattuvanars, musicians and dancers who share various dimensions of their art from temple rituals to traditional repertoire. A sizeable portion of the film is dedicated to the Bala Bani.

Indu worked closely with Shyamala during the production of the film. Shyamala was involved in teaching abhinaya, presenting lecture demonstrations and performing in programmes organized by Tapasya. Indu remembers Shyamala as a selfless artiste and teacher who worked extraordinarily hard to sustain and transmit the Bala tradition throughout her life. Indu said “Shyamala was a person who never projected herself, both on and off the stage. The art was what mattered to her. She was one of Tapasya’s most valuable resource persons who supported us greatly in all our endeavours.”

Srividya Natarajan

Dancer Srividya Natarajan sought permission from her guru K.P.Kittappa Pillai to learn abhinaya from Shyamala. For Srividya, this was an enduring desire as she was a music student of Bala’s cousin T.Brinda. She felt that the coming together of the music and dance elements of the Dhanammal family was resonant and powerful.

When asked to describe Shyamala’s teaching, Srividya said she initially made the mistake of thinking that the lessons were going to be easy for her, as she was already a seasoned dancer who had learnt for more than 12 years with Kittappa Pillai. “When we started movement, I grasped that there were several layers of subtlety in each of the small gestures and movements that Shyamala taught me. I could have reproduced them artificially but finding the emotional and spiritual alignment in my own body to handle what she was expressing took quite a journey!” said Srividya.

Srividya also made a lot of interesting observations about the Bala Bani and how it was a style less adapted to the proscenium stage than other styles as it was possibly a temple-based tradition. “Kittappa Pillai would urge us to cover the stage whereas the Bala tradition’s Nritta discipline emphasized a powerful body stance within a limited space. The Bala Bani has many movements like the ‘Thadinginathom’ that have a complete 180 degree turn which Shyamala performed beautifully. As for abhinaya under Shyamala, I had to learn to spread out my arms in a way that I didn’t use to. For instance, I held the mudra for ‘Sakhi’ quite close to my body. However, for Shyamala, the mudra would begin from the heart and then slowly sweep all the way over to the side! Even though I was used to Kittappa Pillai’s demands for a complete arm extension, this kind of arm extension in the Bala Bani was new to me. By no means is Balamma’s style of abhinaya simple to grasp! Many onlookers reduce this Bani’s abhinaya to certain movements of the head and arm or the face. It does not comprise those larger identifiable elements. A lot of the movements are absolutely delicate and layered.” said Srividya. 

Srividya felt that visually and in terms of emotion, her abhinaya became more aligned when she took lessons from Shyamala. “Shyamala’s approach made sense of what my body could achieve as part of abhinaya. My capacity leaped by several notches and I matured as a dancer by learning the range of movement from her by watching her perform over and over again. She was a patient teacher who would sometimes perform a particular line when I sang for her. She would do about 8-10 sancharis and I would pick up two or three, which were suitable for me at that time.”

Vidya Sankaranarayan

Vidya Sankaranarayanan, a student of K.P.Kittappa Pillai and Srividya Natarajan, took further lessons from Lakshmi Knight and Shyamala. Vidya’s mother Saraswathy Sankaranarayanan is a repository of dance music as she is a vocalist who has sung for Balasaraswati, Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai, K.P.Kittappa Pillai and several other stalwarts. Vidya’s sister Usha Shivakumar is a vocalist who learnt from T.Viswanathan. The family was also closely associated with Bala’s cousin T.Sankaran. Vidya recollected how Shyamala never compromised on even a subtle nuance while teaching abhinaya. “Shyamala’s way of teaching and performing the jaavali ‘Chudare’ was exquisitely unique. I will also never forget how she taught the abhinaya for the line “paTTakuraa kongu gaTTigaanu krishNaa” in the jaavali ‘mathuraa nagarilo’! It involves a synchronized movement to show the gopika’s hair being tugged by Krishna and a swift movement of the neck. I even remember how Shyamala precisely indicated the angle at which the arms and neck need to be gracefully positioned in order to execute the movement symmetrically!” she said.

Indu Varma & Srividya Natarajan dancing together

Shyamala and Indu also had the opportunity to collaborate and present a dance drama based on the Sanskrit text ‘Naarayaneeyam’ at the Guruvayur temple in Kerala. It was a mammoth production spearheaded by Indu and involved Srividya Natarajan and Pranavan taking up roles. Pranavan cites this performance of Shyamala’s as an example to realize the fluidity in the Bala Bani which allowed a dancer to explore various artistic possibilities without giving up the core facets of the tradition. 

In 2001, Shyamala was invited to Toronto to perform for inDANCE, a Canadian dance company headed by dancer Hari Krishnan. While Srividya sang, Vidya did the Nattuvangam for the concert which was a part of inDANCE’s Kutcheri Attam series. Both of them gained a new perspective observing Shyamala’s performance as members of her ensemble.

As a performer

Shyamala performed in Madras from time to time and took extraneous efforts to put together a live orchestra for her performances as dedicated accompanying musicians were an integral part of the Bala Bani. K.Ramiah who learnt dance music and nattuvangam from Balasaraswati, her mother Jayammal and K.Ganesan, supported her greatly in her efforts. Shyamala also worked with Kamudi M.S.Ramadas, a vocalist who accompanied Balasaraswati. Kanchipuram G.Ekambaram and T.R.Murthy usually provided mridangam and flute support for her concerts. However, she often faced a number of professional and financial hurdles along with logistical challenges every time she performed in Madras. She handled all the challenges with immense courage and confidence.

On the stage, Shyamala was a dancer who did not project herself a lot and would tend to be more subtle than loud. In the initial years, she never paid much attention to dance costumes and ornaments, as she always concentrated on the art rather than on her appearance. She was a performer who would focus on getting to the heart of an interpretation. As she matured as an artiste over the years, she spontaneously improvised sancharis on stage. Appreciating her performances required the audience to be educated on the abstruse nuances of the Balasaraswati Bani, which was quite demanding for rasikas. However, Shyamala always had a steadfast group of rasikas in Madras that attended her performances without fail, as they were reminded of Bala whenever they watched her. 

Of the several pieces that she presented, one piece that was especially dear to Shyamala was the lullaby ‘Thaalelo’ in the raga Neelambari describing infant Krishna’s mother Yashoda putting him to sleep. Bala rarely appreciated her students openly as she believed that it would lead to an unnecessary boost to their ego and a false sense of self-worth. However, she is said to have showered her love and blessings on Shyamala for her rendition of this piece. Bala famously remarked that ‘Thaalelo’ should be cherished by Shyamala forever as her signature piece.  

Her Humanity and Resilience

Even though Shyamala spent all her adult life in India, she always stayed in touch with her roots as a Sri Lankan Tamil woman. Shyamala would often travel to Jaffna to visit her cousins and extended family, some of whom would visit her in Madras. She also periodically tracked the political situation in the country and was well informed about various happenings. The 1980s proved to be extremely traumatizing years for Shyamala as several of her relatives died in the Anti-Tamil pogroms in Jaffna and other parts of Sri Lanka. A number of relatives were forced to migrate to other countries across the world leading to her large family splitting up.

Srividya Natarajan highlighted Shyamala’s humanity and resilience during the Sri Lankan Tamil crisis. “Shyamala went out of her way to help many young Tamil men whose lives were in danger. Through her efforts, she financially supported as many people as she could, so that they could get to safety.”

Shyamala was also a great animal lover who adopted a pet dog named Shakti. She would feed and take care of all the street dogs around her building. The bond she shared with her pet was so strong that Shakti died a few days after Shyamala’s death.

Her Art Lives on Forever

Shyamala was enormously devoted to her guru Balasaraswati and would often recount incidents and anecdotes about Bala to her students. She spoke of Bala often and expressed her gratitude to her guru at each and every occasion. Pranavan said Bala’s death in 1984 affected her even more than the death and displacement of her close relatives in Sri Lanka, as she felt that she had lost a strong pillar in life. 

Shyamala praying before a portrait of Veena Dhanammal, Balasaraswati's grandmother

As her health started to fail, Shyamala realized that it was important to pass on her art to younger students who sought her as they appreciated the value of the tradition. A few years before her passing in 2015, she taught dance to many students from other schools including K.P.Rakesh & Ashwini Kaarthikeyan. Through her liberal guidance, she encouraged them to discover their own ways of expressing themselves.

Shyamala passed away on July 14th, 2015 at the age of 74 due to ill health. Her art lives on through her students who continue to perform and teach the Bala Bani. In spite of her immense artistic talent, recognition and opportunities came quite late in life for Shyamala, even though she never strongly desired them. She will always be remembered for the reason that she never chose to dilute the quality of her art for fame and accolades. She had a solid set of values and principles which she passed on to her students.

Many of her students are of the opinion that the art world did not fully tap her potential due to a multitude of reasons. A sense of sadness also prevails among some students as they feel Shyamala remained unappreciated in her younger days because she was not endowed with the social capital and financial strength that many of her contemporaries possessed. Shyamala’s entire life was centred around art and it is no exaggeration to state that she acted as an influential bridge between Balasaraswati and the next generation of learners who are taking forward Bala’s legacy.  

All images belong to Laurissa Vibhuthi, Vasugi Singh, Conrad Olivier, Padma Madaboosi & Michael Borden. They were borrowed from them for the article.