He was a quintessential guru. To celebrate the birth centenary of T. K. Mahalingam Pillai (TKM), family, friends, gurus and disciples gathered at Shanmukhananda Auditorium, Mumbai, recently.
Seven decades ago, TKM migrated to Mumbai and established Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir, along with Guru Govindraj Pillai, his brother-in-law, and sister Karunambal (founder directors).
The tribute event was inaugurated by Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. He said he felt privileged to be part of the function and praised the “remarkably integrated family,” whose “tradition is carried forward by many natyacharyas within the family. You need classical art to restore our past glory.”
Guru Kalyanasundaram, youngest brother of Guru TKM, now spearheading the institution, welcomed the guests and said that this day would inspire every dancer. He talked about TKM, the person, and the dance teacher. “He guided and encouraged me, yet allowed me to think on my own. He believed in developing the individuality in every artiste.”
“Initiated early into dance, TKM was a stalwart with language skills, competence in singing, nattuvangam and choreography. He was also a master trainer. He was a stickler for values yet open to innovation, drawing generously from inspirations. His lineage was his identity and that identity led him to build this institution,” said Dr. V. Shankar, president of Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha.
Quoting from the Natya Shastra and Kamba Ramayana, he underscored the significance of ‘Yatho dhrishti’. “If words don’t suffice use music, if music does not suffice then dance.”
H. S. Agarwal, Chief Post Master General, Maharashtra Circle, released the special cover and said that his work was similar to that of a post office that offers a glimpse of tradition and culture through philately.
Banyan tree
The thirteenth descendant of Tanjore rulers, Rajasri S. Babaji Rajah Bhonsle Chathrapathy, spoke in manipravalam, a mixture of English, Tamil and Marathi.
He said, “Recently, we celebrated the 1032nd birthday of Rajaraja Chola not because he was a Samrat or architect of the Big Temple, but for his contribution to art and culture. “Nilaitha pugazhukku uriyavan.” “Avan arulaal avan thaal vanangi”. It is divine diktat that the Rajarajeswari family carries the baton. They are like a Banyan tree that takes all under its wings,” added Bhonsle.
Bharata Nrityam exponent Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam spoke about her interactions with guruji. She chose the word ‘Aathmartham’ in Tamil to describe TKM.
“Dance was just one aspect. He was the epitome of culture defined by Paramacharya. Culture gets its roots from cultural refinement, thereby is called fine arts, that kindle fine elements in you.”
“In the mid-1960s, my father left me in Guruji’s house for ten days. I learnt the Viriboni varnam from master, with Guru Kuppiah Pillai supervising, mridangam by Kalyanasundaram anna and anni feeding me all the time,” she recalled.
“At the Natya Kala Conference curated by me, he presented the padam, ‘Padari Varugudu’. The ‘talukku kulukku minukkenna podi’, even girls cannot perform so gracefully,” she remarked.
Dr. Sulochana Rajendran lauded Guruji’s way of conducting a programme at the age of 15, handling with finesse nattuvangam, singing and choreography. With her association of four decades, she described his panbu(values), simplicity, discipline as also his perfect technique and amazing abhinaya prowess.
Guru Rajee Narayan, singer Alamelu Mani and Guru Parvati Ravi Ghantasala from Chennai graced the stage.
Informative film
‘Legacy of a Natyacharya’, a short film on Guruji by his late son-in-law Krishnamohan, provided an insight into his multi-faceted persona. The huge Nandi of Tiruvidaimarudoor stood out on the screen and shots of the Mahalingam temple (hence his name) and his childhood story, narrated by the Guru himself, made for an interesting watch.
Recordings of performances were gripping. Demonstrations of ‘Iti neeku, nee matale mayanura’ and sancharis for ‘Ghanshyam Sundara’ by the doyen and a tillana in Behaag composed by TKM showcased his mastery. Rich encomiums were paid by the late Kalanidhi Narayanan and dancer-actor Padmini (he taught the Travancore sisters at Trivandrum). Guruji’s son Vishwanath spoke about his punctuality and that one could set the clock to 8 a.m. when you heard the sound of his thattukazhi.
Natya Samarpanam was presented by the dancers of the institution nurtured by him. “Guru Stotram’ was followed by three Kauthuvams on Ganesha, Subrahmanya and Nataraja and traditional invocations of Sri Rajarajeswari. ‘Sivalingame’ in Ragam Saraswathi (Adi talam), a composition of TKM, brought back old memories.
Varnam ‘Dhanike’ in Todi (Rupakam), edited to 12 minutes, original recording in the voices of Guru TKM and Guru Govindraj Pillai with the live playing of cymbals by Guru Kalyanasundaram and Guru Vasant Kumar was brisk and beautiful. It was followed by a scene from Sarabendra Bhoopala Kuravanji.
Some disciples of Guru TKM, offered individual tribute by performing from his repertoire. Among them were Savita, Sruthi and Aditi, grand-daughters of TKM, who will take the family’s legacy forward.
It is always team work at Rajarajeswari, with every member handling an aspect of the performance. Vasant Kumar assisted uncle Kalyanasundaram in nattuvangam, M. Vishwanath operated lights, Vidya Harikrishna and Shanti lent vocal support.
A befitting tribute to a Guru, who dedicated his life to the art.