On 16 June 2024, legendary Bharatanatyam artist, Kamala Lakshminarayanan, popularly known as ‘Kamala’, was feted on her 90^th birthday, at her residence in the Bay area of California, USA, by her family and friends, including her son, Jainand Narayan and daughter-in-law, Shanthi, as well as by her younger sibling and Bharatanatyam artist, Rhadha. Kamala’s 90^th calendar year was observed with 90 roses and her favourite pastries, while her ‘nakshatra’ birthday was celebrated with a traditional ‘homam’ on 27 May 2024.

Kamala began her stellar career as a child artist in the 1940s, in the Bombay film industry, where she was known as ‘Baby Kamala.’ Her precocious talent at dance was spotlighted in a few Hindi films, most notably in the song, “O Rani, Maharani” in ‘Ram Rajya’ (released in 1943) in which she charmed India’s celluloid fans. When her family moved to Mayuram in Tamil Nadu, during the Second World war, her training in Bharatanatyam began with the elderly guru, Kattumannar Kovil Muthukumara Pillai. Shortly thereafter, she became a disciple of Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai, under whose training she became celebrated as a young artist whose many performances helped establish the ornate Vazhuvoor bani as a leading style of Bharatanatyam, for many decades.

 It was Kamala whose mesmerising performances both on stage and in several films, particularly those in Tamil, popularised this art widely among the public. Whether it was her unforgettable dances in the patriotic Tamil film, Naam Iruvar, released in 1947, or her inimitable dance to the classic Bharathiyar song, Theerada Vilayaatu Pilai sung by D.K. Pattamal, where she played the role dual role of Krishna and the gopi in the film ,Vedala Ulagam released 1948, or her iconic ‘snake dance’ in the Tamil film, Digambara Samiyar released in 1950, Kamala’s talent and verve as a young performer, sparked a new wave of Bharatanatyam enthusiasts, particularly in Southern India. She even made a cameo appearance as Sree Krishna in the much-acclaimed biopic, Meera (1947).

The annual stage performances of Kamala that began from the age of 14, became a much-awaited event at the Music Academy in Chennai and other venues, as she elevated this artistic idiom to a new acme of rhythmic precision, stylistic finesse and subtle abhinaya. Whether it was her guru, Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai, or some of the singers for her performances, including Swamimalai Rajarathnam Pillai, K.J. Sarasa, or S. Rajeswari, all of them held her in high esteem as an artiste, even after they became established in their own right.

Over her dance career spanning several decades, Kamala has performed at thousands of venues, including the occasion of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. She also performed for many visiting dignitaries to India at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan, that included former U.S. President Eisenhower, during his visit to New Delhi, in 1959. Along with other leading Indian artists, including the late sitar maestro, Ravishankar, Kamala performed in Japan in the 1950s. She also did performance tours of many cities in Europe and Asia.

In the 1970s, the late William Skelton, Emeritus professor in the Music Department of Colgate University, in New York, USA, collaborated with Kamala, in training and presenting two Bharatanatyam dance dramas with his American students, to much critical acclaim. Following these performances she was granted a teaching position at that university. Kamala then chose to settle in the U.S., where she founded her dance school, Sri Bharata Kamalalaya, based in Long Island, New York in 1980. As a dance guru, she trained many students in the New York-New Jersey area, mainly from the Indian diaspora, who presented annual shows and dance dramas. She also presented a grand stage production of the Ramayana, in the 1980s at the Madison Square Garden, in New York City, in collaboration with the late Sanskrit and Vedic scholar, Dr. Jayaraman, of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in New York.

In 1968, Kamala was awarded the ‘Sangeet Natak Academy Award and in 1970, she received the Padma Bhushan. Over the years as a Bharatnatyam guru and artiste, Kamala Lakshminarayanan accumulated many laurels, including the E. Krishna Iyer Award from the Sruti Foundation as its first recipient in 1989, the ‘Platinum Jubilee Award’ from the Music Academy in 2001, the ‘Sangeetha Sagara Award’ from the Carnatic Music Association of North America (CMANA) in 2004 and the ‘Natya Padmam’ from Brahma Gana Sabha in 2007, to name a few.

While several pioneering artists in India contributed significantly to the 20^th century revival of Bharatanatyam, it was Kamala, with her screen and stage aura, innate talent and vibrance as a performer, who catalysed a widespread enthusiasm for the revival of this art of ancient Bharat, that transitioned from temples and palaces, to rightfully find its place in the hallowed space of contemporary Bharat’s classical arts.

By

Uma Dandapani

(the author is a freelance journalist based in New York, U.S.A., whose many articles over more than forty years, have been published in leading print and online publications of India and the Indian diaspora ).