V P Dhananjayan: Discipline, Dance, and Decades of Dedication in Bharatanatyam

A stickler for time, V P Dhananjayan’s believes being prompt is the first step to discipline. Once, when actor Sivaji Ganesan arrived a few minutes late for a programme, Dhananjayan went ahead and started the proceedings without waiting for him. In Kollywood, Sivaji is known to be early on the sets, but for my show he was late. I wait for no one,” says the 86-year-old. From being one of the earliest disciples of Rukmini Devi Arundale to heading School of Dance Bharata Kalanjali, Dhananjayan and his wife Shantha have come a long way by training several students across the globe. The dancer-couple share their experience and expertise in an interview with Neeraja Ramesh. Excerpts:Do you look forward to Margazhi seasons?
Margazhi makes no difference because every day is Margazhi. Except for the weather, there is nothing special about the season. A lot of activities are going on commercially. Devotional activities have reduced to an extent. Apart from attending and conducting shows, the season is always memorable as we get to meet friends and exchange views about dance and music.

Is the concept of gurukulam in vogue?It has changed over the years. We grew up amidst legends. Our teachers were our parents. Shantha was one year senior in Kalakshetra, with Malaysian roots. I come from Payyanur in Kerala. My father had too many mouths to feed, hence I was sent to learn Kathakali through a friend of his, ‘Asan’ T K Chandu Panikkar. The first girl I met in the Theosophical Gardens was Shantha, since she knew Malayalam. Our learning years in Kalakshetra were gruelling. Art taught us discipline. Now, we cannot imagine being strict with students, as they will stop coming to classes. Bharatanatyam or Kathakali is only an option for many, as academics has become the priority.

You’ve travelled across the globe.We have performed at embassies, farms and the smallest towns. I did a piece as a pregnant deer in agony trying to deliver amidst a tiger, raging fire, a hunter and a river. Trapped among enemies, I had to emulate a dance form where nature comes to my rescue, as lightning strikes the hunter, his arrow pierces the tiger, followed by rain where the fire gets doused and I deliver smoothly. How nature helped in my delivery is the narration. A Canadian gynaecologist who was in the audience said she was amused to see how a man could understand the pain of delivery.

After taking a break from Kalakshetra, Shantha, you performed in Malaysia not knowing Rukmini Devi was in the audience?I wanted to spend time with my parents in Malaysia, since I was away from them for a long period. I had collaborated with the Malaysian govt for a performance and had no clue she would be there. I thought she would be displeased to see me doing a bharatanatyam item for a Malayan song along with my students. On the contrary, athai said she was proud of me. Kalakshetra was my first home and Malaysia my second.

Why did you leave Kalakshetra?Dhananjayan: I never had the intention to leave, but I was vocal about inequalities. Salary was poor in those days. When I questioned Rukmini Devi, she asked what I would do if she did not raise wages. I said I would leave, and she asked me to do so, although I regretted it later. I left first, Shantha after a few years. The folly of our society is that art never pays. A group of senior dancers has made several representations to govts to recognise and include art and culture in the priority list.

Many industries survive through natyam. Ancillary industries such as the making of ghungroo, bells, cottage industries, the make-up industry, silk saris, instrument making and group dancers also make lucrative professions in films and reality shows through this medium, but they are not encouraged enough. Our students are employed in universities, dance schools, cinema and reality shows.

When I came out of Kalakshetra, I had no money. I was married, had my first-born, and my parents in Kerala had to be looked after. My headmaster from Besant School got me a clerical job with TTK Group. (Actor and satirist) Cho Ramasamy also worked there. We used to be close. Whenever T T Vasu walked into the office, he used to call me, Cho and actor P N Kumar koothadigals, asking in a jovial manner what we were doing in the TTK group. Thus, my formal education too helped in times of crisis.

Former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s mother Sandhya wanted you to teach Jayalalithaa at her home?Yes, I needed extra money, but I stuck to my principle of never going to anyone’s house to teach. Whoever they may be, they have to come to my school. Sandhya did not take offence. The cinema industry has been kind to us. Many top actors learned natyam from us. Bharata Kalanjali is proud to have produced such talent. Even now, we take classes with the same enthusiasm, and Shantha goes every day to teach new art forms. We expect our students to keep our style, charm and class without losing originality. I was Rukmini Devi’s Sri Rama in her Ramayana series dance drama productions and lived up to her expectations to date.

Your name (Dhananjayan) was doing the rounds for being Kalakshetra’s director?Yes, when the Union govt took over, I came to know my name was also there but by then Bharata Kalanjali was up and running. I asked my friends if the offer should be considered but they discouraged me, perhaps out of jealousy. I was called a traitor since I left the organisation in an uneasy way. As for Shantha, she is immersed in teaching and dislikes administrative coronation. Work is worship for Shantha. I am ambitious.

A few years ago, Kalakshetra was rife with complaints of sexual harassment. Many seniors didn’t speak up for survivors.We were shocked. It should have been handled better. Such a sensitive issue needs critical analysis. We believe a few things were blown out of proportion. When Shantha and I fell in love with each other, it became a topic of discussion on the campus, but we behaved and nurtured our love with decorum.

You are known to be a stickler for time. I wait for no one. I didn’t wait for Sivaji Ganesan, and I didn’t wait for former chief minister M Karunanidhi either. Sivaji and Karunanidhi appreciated our sense of timing. I was called Mr Sharp. Sabhas were also known to start late but we inculcated the timing discipline in them.