Kalanidhi Narayanan
Encyclopedia
Kalanidhi Narayanan is an India
n dancer and teacher of Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, who was the early non-devadasi
girl to learn the dance form and perform it on stage in 1930s and 40s. After a brief career in 1940s, she returned to dance in 1973 and became a notable teacher of abhinaya
.
She was awarded the Padma Bhushan
Award, India's third highest civilian honour in 1985., the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
for Bharatnatyam in 1990, given by Sangeet Natak Akademi
, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama and Kalidas Samman
(1998).
household of Sumitra and Ganapati, where he mother was keen on getting her dance education, which was supported by her father. Thus starting at the age of seven she trained intensively under various gurus, this included Kamakshi Ammal, daughter of Veena Dhanam, for Padams and Javalis and Manakkal Sivarajan for vocal lessons. Noted guru Kannappa Pillai, from Kanchipuram
was her main teacher of nritta (dance), he was also teacher to Balasaraswati
, while Chinnayya Naidu and Mylapore Gauri Ammal taught her Abhinaya
(Art of expression). Later was to add a new dimension to abhinaya herself.
She made her stage-debut (Arangetram
) at the age of 12 at the Senate House in Chennai, for the Madras Music Academy
. While still in her teens, she gave to two notable recitals, one with Dhanamanikkam and another with Nattuvanar K. Ganesan, son of the Kandappa Pillai.
in abhinaya, to which she agreed, encouraged by her sons who had by now grown up. This started the second phase of her career after a gap of 30 years at the age of 46. She also started to reeducate herself in dance, luckily her books from her my younger days had survived, she started attending dance performances and Arangetram
in the city, also enrolled in a course on dance theory on Bharatanatyam by Dr. Padma Subramanium..Gradually more students started coming to her and in the coming decades she became "the most sought after teacher for abhinaya".
In December 7, 2003, various dance teachers and her disciples, celebrated her 75th birthday at at Luz Community Hall in Chennai, it was marked by a two day seminar on abhinaya, Abhinaya Sudha, where in prominent gurus of Bharatanatyam participated. On the occasion, a set of 4 Cds on Padamswas also released.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n dancer and teacher of Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, who was the early non-devadasi
Devadasi
In Hinduism, the devadasi tradition is a religious tradition in which girls are "married" and dedicated to a deity or to a temple and includes performance aspects such as those that take place in the temple as well as in the courtly and mujuvani [telegu] or home context. Dance and music were...
girl to learn the dance form and perform it on stage in 1930s and 40s. After a brief career in 1940s, she returned to dance in 1973 and became a notable teacher of abhinaya
Abhinaya
Abhinaya is a concept in Indian dance and drama derived from Bharata's Natya Shastra. Although now, the word has come to mean 'the art of expression', etymologically it derives from Sanskrit abhi- 'towards' + nii- 'leading/guide', so literally it means a 'leading towards' Aside from its clear...
.
She was awarded the Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
Award, India's third highest civilian honour in 1985., the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
for Bharatnatyam in 1990, given by Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.-History:...
, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama and Kalidas Samman
Kalidas samman
The Kalidas Samman is a prestigious arts award presented annually by the government of Madhya Pradesh in India. The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language.The Kalidas Samman...
(1998).
Early life and training
Born Kalanidhi Ganapathi in the BrahminBrahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
household of Sumitra and Ganapati, where he mother was keen on getting her dance education, which was supported by her father. Thus starting at the age of seven she trained intensively under various gurus, this included Kamakshi Ammal, daughter of Veena Dhanam, for Padams and Javalis and Manakkal Sivarajan for vocal lessons. Noted guru Kannappa Pillai, from Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
was her main teacher of nritta (dance), he was also teacher to Balasaraswati
Balasaraswati
Balasaraswati was a celebrated Indian dancer, and her rendering of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style, made this style of dancing of south India well known in different parts of India, as also many parts of the world....
, while Chinnayya Naidu and Mylapore Gauri Ammal taught her Abhinaya
Abhinaya
Abhinaya is a concept in Indian dance and drama derived from Bharata's Natya Shastra. Although now, the word has come to mean 'the art of expression', etymologically it derives from Sanskrit abhi- 'towards' + nii- 'leading/guide', so literally it means a 'leading towards' Aside from its clear...
(Art of expression). Later was to add a new dimension to abhinaya herself.
She made her stage-debut (Arangetram
Arangetram
Arangetram , also Arangettam in Malayalam, is the debut on-stage performance of a Bharatanatyam student, after undertaking years of training.Bharatanatyam is an ancient Indian dance form originating in Tamilakam....
) at the age of 12 at the Senate House in Chennai, for the Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy, or simply Music Academy, is one of the premier and early Music Academies in the South Indian city of Madras, now Chennai. It plays an important role in encouraging and promoting primarily the Carnatic Music south Indian art form. It also played an important role in revival of...
. While still in her teens, she gave to two notable recitals, one with Dhanamanikkam and another with Nattuvanar K. Ganesan, son of the Kandappa Pillai.
Career
She had a brief dance career in the 1940s, before she step out at the age of sixteen, when he mother died and she was married to a conservative family. She returned to dance when in 1973, when noted art-patron, Y. G. Doraiswamy, who had seen her performances as a teen, asked to instruct dancer Alarmel ValliAlarmel Valli
Alarmel Valli is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, and the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam and also her own distinctive style...
in abhinaya, to which she agreed, encouraged by her sons who had by now grown up. This started the second phase of her career after a gap of 30 years at the age of 46. She also started to reeducate herself in dance, luckily her books from her my younger days had survived, she started attending dance performances and Arangetram
Arangetram
Arangetram , also Arangettam in Malayalam, is the debut on-stage performance of a Bharatanatyam student, after undertaking years of training.Bharatanatyam is an ancient Indian dance form originating in Tamilakam....
in the city, also enrolled in a course on dance theory on Bharatanatyam by Dr. Padma Subramanium..Gradually more students started coming to her and in the coming decades she became "the most sought after teacher for abhinaya".
In December 7, 2003, various dance teachers and her disciples, celebrated her 75th birthday at at Luz Community Hall in Chennai, it was marked by a two day seminar on abhinaya, Abhinaya Sudha, where in prominent gurus of Bharatanatyam participated. On the occasion, a set of 4 Cds on Padamswas also released.
Disciples
Amongst her noted disciples are Uma Vasudevan (Montreal), Ramya Harishankar (California), Hema Rajagopalan (Chicago) and Priya Govind (India).Further reading
- Kalanidhi Narayanan and Padam revival in the modern Bharata Natyam dance practice, by Priya Srinivasan. University of California, Los Angeles, 1997.
- Kalanidhi Narayanan's Triveni: selected Telugu songs of Annamayya Kshetrayya Sarangapani. Abhinaya Sudha Trust, 2008.