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Dancing her way to glory
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The drive to prove herself different from others of her sort prompted her to learn dance, for which she had a great flair.
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THE WAY she adopted to wipe out her woes has become the way of life for Narthaki Nataraj. And it has fetched her a fellowship in Bharatnatyam, from the Union Government.
What is special about her? Might be the doubt that irks. She is a eunuch!
Narthaki Nataraj was one among the artistes to perform during the Chithrai festival at the Tirumalai Naicker Mahal.
The indomitable will helped her emerge as one of the leading Bharatnatyam exponents in the State.
It was in her teens that Narthaki Nataraj, hailing from a Madurai-based agricultural family, realised the changes in her body. The drive to prove herself different from others of her sort prompted her to learn dance, for which she had a great flair. Lady luck smiled on her, and she got an opportunity to become a student of Kittappa Pillai of Thanjavur, the doyen who groomed such grandies as Vyjayanthimala, Hemamalini and Yamini Krishnamurthy.
Success started coming her way. Having enjoyed the nuances of the art, Narthaki Nataraj wanted to propagate it, and started the Narthaki Nrityakalalaya, which today has two branches — at Mylapore in Chennai and K.K. Nagar in Madurai.
A generous personality, Nataraj has little concern for money: she gives poor students free training. Similarly, she has no hesitation to train students like her.
In fact, starting an institution for them is one of her lifetime ambitions.
She takes pride in having tutored Anita Ratnam, a leading danseuse, in a particular branch of the art.
"All these could not have been possible, but for the inspiration of Shakti Bhaskar, my friend," recalls Nataraj. "I owe a lot to Shakti, who is also a victim of nature's gimmick."
Another person that they had come across in their life is Revathi Sankaran, whose family adopted them, and provided them financial help, through the Sharada Foundation.
"In our early days, we had a tough time. After 1999, the wind started blowing in our favour, and we are better off now," she says.
"When I was a dance teacher in the Thanjavur Tamil University, along with my guru, I learnt from him the nuances of Bharatnatyam," she reveals.
Regarding the audience response, she feels: "If you are booked for the show again in the same venue, you have passed muster, or else it is the other way round."
"We take utmost care in selecting the themes, as we come across different types of audience. We classify them into three categories: those who have in-depth knowledge of the art; casual audience and the common man. Suiting to these categories, we select themes and songs," explains Nataraj.
Detailing her band, Nataraj says: "there are troupes with highly skilled players, and they are my strength."
Among the various honours they have won, Nataraj considers the fellowship granted by the Central Government significant.
"It has placed me at the pinnacle of glory. The Ministry of External Affairs has issued a passport, recognising me as a woman."
"To my knowledge, this fellowship has been won only by the Chennai-based experts. Now, I am the first person from the South to bag this," she points out.
"Apart from private programmes, we get a slot in almost all cultural programmes organised in the State," Nataraj adds.
"Whether it is God's play or nature's gimmick, I have never repented for what I am today. But, I regret when my efforts go unrecognised," she says.
About their future plans, the Narthaki says "both Shakti and myself want to find a place in the history of Bharatnatyam, and open an institution for people like us."
The duo, who has had a new lease of life through Bharatnatyam, is sure to become role models for many like them.
For further details contact: revsankaran@eth.net
M.R.ARAVINDAN
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