Last of Trichy Sadhirs, Muthukannamal, to be feted

CHENNAI: As a dance form, Sadhir underwent many challenges and it eventually gave birth to Bharatanatyam. Like Sadhir, the artists who practiced the dance form also faced challenges. But some artists didn't give up. Without any sponsorship and support, they tried to make Sadhir popular.
R Muthukannamal, the last Devadasi-Sadhir dancer from Viralimalai, is one among them. The 89-year-old dancer will be honoured with DakshinaChitra Virudhu at a function to be held on March 17 in Muttukadu.

Sadhir is a precolonial temple dance in Tamil Nadu which later transformed into Bharatanatyam. Born in Viralimalai, 28 km from Trichy, Muthukannamal and her family were closely associated with temple dance practices in the Muruga temple as well as in Pudukottai Shiva temple there.

Muthukannamal had been a Devaradiyar trained since the age of eight, under her famous Nattuvannar father and grandmother. King Rajagopala Thoondaiman had gifted agricultural lands to their family for their services. She is the seventh generation of the devadasi tradition and the only surviving dancer of the 32 contemporaries at the Muruga temple in Viralimalai.

Born in 1929, Muthukannammal still performs Sadhir. "I am happy that I am chosen for the DakshinaChitra Virudhu. It's a recognition to the dance form and I am proud of it," she said.

She continued to perform Sadhir over many years, in spite of the diminishing patronage from temples. The characteristic style of Sadhir is that the performer dance and sing at the same time, as against the modern practice. "It was challenging. Time was when there was no support to the dance form from anyone. The popularity of Bharatanatyam was the main reason. But I wanted to stick to Sadhir and popularise the dance form," she said.

DakshinaChitra Virudhu is an annual award instituted by the Madras Craft Foundation and the Friends of DakshinaChitra to honour the folk artists and groups in recognition to their outstanding contribution to the field. The award ceremony will be followed by a performance by Muthukannamal.

To create awareness about Sadhir and also to popularise the contributions of Muthukannamal, former Madras Art College principal and veteran sculptor G Chandrasekaran (fondly called Chandru) made a sculpture of Muthukannamal at his art school for the disabled in Tiruvelveli in 2017. The sculpture in clay symoblised the challenges of an artist in keeping alive a dance form under odd circumstances.