All-male dance festival in honour of Guru Udupi

 

About to step into his ninetieth year (1926-2015), ‘Udupi’ Sir as he was more affectionately addressed, brought about a pioneering identity  in the world of Bharatanatyam unproclaim.   

 

Mentored by the owner of Woodlands Hotel who introduced him to the legendary Kanchipuram Ellapa Nattuvanar, whose tradition and style Udupi sir came to propagate eventually. A torchbearer of the Kanchipuram style of Bharatanatyam that traces its lineage to the doyen T. Balasaraswati, Udupi sir was a very broad-minded guru encouraging and embracing any and all styles that are true and original. 

 

The Srinidi (Cultural) Trust  is dedicating the forthcoming  tenth anniversary  festival to Udupi sir featuring  an all-male three-day dance festival  from November 24 to 26 .

 

Glorifying and celebrating senior male gurus, the festival — in association with Brahma Gana Sabha.

 

Udupi sir lived a life true to the concept of ‘vidhya dhaanam’. Well-versed in Vedas and Shastras, we were in for a surprise when the first thing that he enquired was my birth star in order for him to astrologically determine whether or not a fruitful teacher-student relationship was pre-designed! Here was a ‘guru’ who was actually interested in the development of the aspiring student rather than anything else.  

 

He was a teacher who believed in shaping his students’ own creative output and delivery of dance rather than endeavour to churn out photocopies of him or his style of dance.   

 

In addition to his choreographic works in many Tamil films and a few Hindi films,  his perfect physique, body-lines  and dancing acumen fetched him to dance a look-alike sequence for the doyen Sivaji Ganesan in  Paatum Bharathamum (Udupi  sir’s association with actor  Sivaji Ganesan dates to his theatre/play troupe’s days — yet another domain of experience for Udupi sir). 

 

He also holds a unique distinction of having worked with three chief ministers (Sri N. T. Rama Rao, Sri M. G. Ramachandran and the present chief minister of Tamil Nadu Selvi J.

 

Jayalalithaa. Udupi sir trained present day dancing prodigy, actor-director Prabhu Deva and his siblings).  His most valuable contribution is the adavu system that he formulated. Working out an easily understandable and achievable framework,  Udupi sir grouped and taught the Bharatanatya adavus in 12 groups. 

 

Analysing deeper, it does involve all the regular and usual adavus, but  is taught in a very simplistic manner enabling the student to absorb and recall more easily and efficiently rather than having to learn the vernacular terms and titles preceding the movement patterns. 

 

This is particularly handy and immensely useful when I teach non-Indian students and the Indian diaspora students abroad. (The dance festival will be at Petachi Hall, Mylapore, from November 24  to 26. For more information contact +9198410-02037]