Mesmeric presence on stage

IT IS a dramatic moment in the Ramayana. A forlorn Sita is sitting under a tree and bemoaning her fate when a sprightly Hanuman jumps down from a tree and surprises her into open- mouthed wonder.

Unfortunately, even as the audience waits with bated breath, for it knows what power and artistry the dancer playing the monkey- god is capable of, the curtains have to be brought down hurriedly, as he has evidently twisted his ankle rather nastily.

It is, indeed, a bad injury and the foot swells like a balloon back. Sydney-based Dr. Janardhanan, an annual visitor to Kalakshetra's art festival, happens to have just the right medical supplies in hand, and soon Balagopalan is administered an injection that numbs the injured area, and he is able to resume dancing as if nothing has happened.

What followed this little drama a decade ago, was a memorable performance by the veteran dancer-teacher who has won critical acclaim and an adoring fan following over the decades at Kalakshetra, the dance school.

Playing Hanuman was a matter of devotion and surrender. Balagopalan simply left the matter in the hands of that indefatigable soldier who would lay down his life unhesitatingly for Rama and Sita, and indeed, he believes that it was Lord Anjaneya's benediction that saw him through that evening.

"But I must confess that I didn't observe the usual austere vratam that day. Every year during the art festival, I would lead the most ascetic life, eating sparsely, doing puja and generally denying myself the creature comforts. That particular year, I had been a bit lax and I'm convinced that is the reason why I met with that accident," Balan Anna, as he is known to everyone in Kalakshetra, remembers even today.

Balan Anna is more than a brilliant impersonator of Hanuman. His Lakshmana in the early years to Dhananjayan's Rama is still talked about in awed whispers. His Bharata to Janardhanan's Rama is equally famous. His interpretation of the devout younger brother in "Paduka Pattabhishekam", who places Rama's footwear on the throne which he keeps in safe custody for the exiled prince for fourteen years, has never been bettered on stage or screen. Comedy, villainy, pathos and bhakti ... nothing escaped his attention, as his brilliant performances as Ravana, or in a comic role in "Sakuntalam" or as Kannappar in "Kannappar Kuravanji", testify.

And what role has Balagopalan not played to perfection? His portrayal of Krishna in "Rukmini Kalyanam" will make you forget his short stature and even push back the years and accept him totally as the youthful, mischievous cowherd of Brindavan and lord of Dwaraka. He is equally convincing as the wily Sakuni in "Mahabharata". For not only is he adept at the footwork necessary for Bharatanatyam and honed by his Kathakali training, but acclaimed for his mobile and appropriate facial expressions.

The result of rigorous training as a student of Kalakshetra where he arrived in 1954 as a 14-year old, these attributes make him the most versatile actor among dancers. An early star cast of Kunhiraman as Viswamitra, Chandu Panikkar as Vasishta, Dhananjayan as Rama and Balagopalan as Lakshmana is still remembered by old timers for the special chemistry they wrought on stage.

"Chandu Panikkar, Janardhanan's father, was a great Kathakali dancer and an even greater teacher and we had the privilege of learning from him at Kalakshetra", Balan recalls with pride.

``And Sarada Hoffman too was a wonderful teacher, who taught generations of students the best way of performing Bharatanatyam. She was a perfectionist who spared no one until we got every step, every expression right every time. Without her dedication, where would we all be today - myself, Adyar Lakshmanan, Chandrasekhar, Leela Samson?" he asks, regretting the relative lack of recognition accorded to her.

"My father, Koman Nair, was a stage artiste in Kerala, known as the Malabar Charlie Chaplin. He did a pretty good Hanuman, too (in stage plays not dance dramas) and I hope my son, Pranesh, follows in my footsteps some day," Balagopal says with pride. Daughter Prithvija, too, is being put through her paces in dance.

Today, Balagopalan has retired from Kalakshetra because he is 60 years old. In Rukmini Devi's time, his career might have just begun, for that indefatigable collector of great masters made sure Kalakshetra benefited from the wisdom and experience of the best music and dance composers and teachers.

Armed with his monthly pension of Rs. 265 and a fund of goodwill from many former students, fans and patrons of Kalakshetra, he has quietly embarked on his new life as teacher at his home, where students come to him for lessons.

But Kalakshetra has not completely forgotten Balagopalan. After a lapse of a year, the art festival at Kalakshetra resumes this year on December 25, and the veteran dancer will be on stage, playing his favourite roles. And knowing that, seasoned Kalakshetra watchers will be there, packing the auditorium.

"The doctors have pronounced me unfit. With pain in both knees, my stamina is not what it used to be, yet when I ascend the stage to do a part in the Ramayana or Mahabharata or any of our epics or myths, I am a transformed man, protected by the lord Anjaneya himself. I may not be able to walk without pain for weeks afterwards, but I will somehow find the energy for the two and a half hours of the show. It's a heady feeling from beginning to end." Balagopalan speaks with fervour and utter conviction.

V. RAMNARAYAN

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