The Kuratthi and her kuravai Kutthu

Kamala was a Bharatha Natyam icon and a role model for every Tam Brahm girl inclined to the fine arts of classiscal music and dance. Tributes have been pouring in from all quarters for renowned Bharatha Natyam dancer Kamala,who passed away recently. Watching her perform live made every girl long to emulate Kamala's movements and expressions. Such was the power of her dance ....it swept the versed and unversed into a flood of a dance extravaganza. It was the year 1970. i was a ten year old....a Me Too to the Bharatha Natyam art form. My father was in the Faculty of the Indian School Of Mines; my mother a homemaker, trained in Carnatic music and nurturing fond artistic dreams for her daughter. My voice could not lend itself to the manouevres and modulations that the Carnatic style demanded. The next best alternative was dance... I was also inclined to the dance form because where Sangeetham could not find a path, my knack for Talam and Rhythm paved the way for Bharatha Natyam. It was then that Kumari Kamala . as she was always known came to Dhanbad in Jharkand to perform a claassical repertoire....and what a performance it turned out to be for the sheer brilliance of the Nrittya form and the musical choreography. So I started learning Bharatha Natyam from a teacher who came from Calcutta to teach children Of the Coal Belt. But there was no soul in my dance.....even I realized it. My feet just padded to the Thai Thayi beats of the teacher who punctually turned up once for classes in two weeks . The dance classes were routine and drab...the master taught sincerely and pedantically. He could not however inspire and kindle the creative spark; it was mundane,lifeless and just that.It was at this juncture that Kamala burst uopn my Dance world like a meteor blazing a trail of sparkling brilliance. I almost remember her performance as if it happened only yesterday. Kamala darted with fleeting, dainty, tiny steps from one end of the stage to another. She was here and she was there.....ingum irunthal....angum irunthal. Around the time of Kamala's performance,my Dance Guru changed. I started learning from Shri K. R. Radhakrishnan, Nattuvanaar and Dance teacher in the Ramiah Pillai baani. Kamala had also trained in this style and she faithfully adhered to this baani. Now when I think back, I realize destiny had a hand in the whole matter. Guru Radhakrishnan had also done Nattuvaangam for Kumari Kamala for a period of time, Also he had a deep sense of quality music and padams.. the lyrical Tamil songs soaked in metaphorical love and devotion to the divine Lord. Coming to Kamala' performance, I watched in spell-bound awe as Jathiswaram followed Alarippu... then onto a Varnam, padams and an electrifying Thillana. The varnam that day was the grand, majestic yet rarely known Swathi Thirunal Dasha Ragamalika composition Kamala Jaasya with the lyrics fitting into Adi Tala with mathematical precision. I was not much immersed in the soft, subtle Nayaki Bhavas of the Padams but the crisp, catchy, Kutrala Kuravanji dance from the verdant Pothigai mountains made me sit up. It was a light, tacky song- Pachamalai Pavazha Malai composed aptly in Raga Anand Bhairavi. The dancer, a disciple of Kamala admirably danced in a jaunty, folksy manner to this lilting song. I sat through, completely captivated and spell-bound, admiring both the gaily coloured,bold check patterned paavadai with a matching blouse, her beads and pearls as well as the dancer's raunchy whirls and twirls. The next day, after my dance class, I requested Shri Radhakrishnan rather hesitatingly to teach me the Kuratthi dance. I told him how I had been totally taken up with the kuratthi experience... that the song and dance were lodged in my inward eye. The sport that he was, Guru Radhakrishnan taught me in a very short span of time, the dance with modified steps compatible with a beginner's ability. Wonders will never cease. I got a chance to perform Pacchai Pavazha Malai on the stage, complete with kuratthi dress and paraphernalia....strings of chunky and gaudy coloured beads and the kuratthi hairdo which like Andal's is coiffed to the side of the head with braids of flowers and beads adorning it. My mother sang Pacchamalai Pavazha malai melodiously to Guru Radhakrishnan wielding the cymbals in staccato Nattuvaangam. Kamala's performance kindled a spark in me; a lifelong love and passion for the fine arts. My dance life was short...but the learning experiencewas evolving. The lyrics of the transformative song Pacchamalai Pavazhamalai are loosely translated as follows: From rocks of coral'n' vales of green, lush and plush with dreams complete, from the land beautiful of the Tamils, do I, Valli,come with secrets to share and a future to tell! With a spring in my step and a stringed garland in my hand, do I dance ...THAM THAM THAKAJONU THAI THAI THIMITHAKKA THATTHOM THATHINTHAKKA THOM THOM....THATHINTHAKKA THATTHOM.... Oh TAMILNADU... the land of milk and honey;of learned and creative people, to its deep and dense jungles, where tuskers and wild life live in harmony with nature That land of golden paddy and sweet honey, to forests of monkey entwined trees and gushing little streams of sparkling crystal water; Do I, Valli, consort of the gracious Lord Muruga, come with a spring in my step and a song in my heart, to aspire the company of the learned and blessed,of the wealthy and the wise..... THAM THAM THAKAJONU THAI THAI THIMITHAKKA THATTHOM THATHINTHAKKA THOM THOM....THATHINTHAKKA THATTHOM....