![Guru2a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Guru2a.JPG)
Guru Chandrasekharan (1916–1998) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor of
Kathakali. He was born in
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populatio ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in 1916. His father was N.K. Nair, an artist and notable oil painter. Guru Chandrasekharan held tenure at the
Visva Bharati University
Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...
(
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...
) from 1947 to 1950, where he was a Professor of Classical Dance, focusing on Kathakali.
Early life and training
While studying at university, the young Chandrasekharan started practising dance without informing his parents and studied
Kathakali Kerala Nadanam under the guidance of
Guru Gopinath
Perumanoor Gopinathan Pillai, more popularly known as Guru Gopinath (24 June 1908 – 9 October 1987) was a well known actor-cum-dancer. He is well regarded as the greatest preserver of the dance tradition. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak ...
. During that period Guru Gopinath received Royal Patronage from the Palace of Travancore and a dance studio titled 'Sri. Chithrodaya Nirtha Kalalayam' was established by the Travancore Government in Poojappura in his honour. Chandrasekharan was a student of that school.
Career
![Guru5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Guru5.JPG)
Having left
Guru Gopinath
Perumanoor Gopinathan Pillai, more popularly known as Guru Gopinath (24 June 1908 – 9 October 1987) was a well known actor-cum-dancer. He is well regarded as the greatest preserver of the dance tradition. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak ...
after some time, Chandrasekharan practised Kathakali under Nedumudi Narayana Kurup who was also an artist under the patronage of the Royal Palace of Travancore. Later he organized his own troupe and conducted performances in major cities in India.
Chandrasekharan was one of the pioneers of using current social themes in creating classical dance productions. He has directed and choreographed several social themes in dance form. In 1943, on an invitation from the British Government of India, he took his troupe to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
in Egypt and parts of Italy to entertain soldiers of the
British Indian Army who were engaged in military operations there as part of (
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
). At the close of the war in 1946 he was again invited to go on a tour of the Middle East, but that tour ended with only a preliminary performance in
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...
,
Ceylon.
Chandrasekharan served as a member of the
Kerala University
University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...
Senate, member of the board of directors of
Kerala Kalamandalam
Kerala Kalamandalam, deemed to be University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major center for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the Southern states of India, with the special emphasis on K ...
, member of the Advisory Committee for the Malayalam Encyclopedia (
Sarvavijnanakosam), director of Jawahar Bal Bhavan and as a visiting professor and chairman of the Board of Examination at the
Swathi Thirunal College of Music
Swathi Thirunal College of Music is a music college in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1939. It was first named as "The Music Academy". The name was renamed as Swathi Thirunal College of Music in 1962. The founder of this ...
.
In the late 1940s, he composed and played in the ''Voice of Travancore'', a dance production with a political theme. It was a critique of the autocratic rule of the Dewan Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer and the people's movement of resistance thereon. However, C.P. became an admirer of Chandrasekharan's performances and arranged for annual performances at his official residence.
For "Voice of Travancore", Chandrasekhran's performance was praised in the report published by the All India Educational Conference held in Trivandrum in 1946. The review said: "The Nataraja Thandava was presented in a remarkable manner by Chandrasekharan. When he presented the Hunter Dance, his joy of being the monarch of all he surveyed in the forest was vividly perceivable. He aroused the tragic sentiments to a remarkable extent while he was experiencing suicidal agony as he was bitten by a snake. As he entered the 'Ardhanareeswara', here the body was responding to a double call of vigour and grace. It was perhaps more than what an Udayasankar could do". Another well-received composition by the Guru was "Polinja Deepam" (The Light That Died) depicting the sad end of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
, which he produced in 1948.
In 1949 he joined the
Viswa-Bharati University (
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...
) as a professor of Kathakali Dance. During this period he choreographed and performed several of
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
's famous dramatic dances such as ''Chithrangada'', ''Chandalika'', etc. in cities including New Delhi and
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. At Viswa-Bharati, he had the opportunity to get acquainted with dance forms including those from Kandi, Bali and Burma. During his tenure he met and got well acquainted with the likes of Prof.
Humayun Kabir
Humayun Kabir (1906-1969) was an Indian educationist and politician. He was also a poet, essayist and novelist in the Bengali-language. He was also a renowned political thinker. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford and graduated in 1931. ...
,
Zakir Husain
Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the third president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
Born in Hyderabad in a Afridi Pashtun family, Husain ...
(former
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...
), etc.
Sri. S.K. George, a
Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians.
Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...
and the former director of Dinabandhu Bhavan, Santiniketan once said about him:
"Sri Chandrasekharan was one of the best teachers of the Art that Santiniketan has had and did much to rouse interest in its study among students from various parts of the country. He delighted visitors to Santiniketan from all parts of the world during his stay there by the finished technique of his art and has received glowing testimonials from many of them, including delegates to the World Pacifist meeting. In Gurudev's dance-dramas like 'Chandalika', 'Chitrangata' and 'Syama' presented in Santiniketan and outside, he took the leading parts".
Having been at Viswa-Bharati for several years he left
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...
and started his own school in
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populatio ...
under the name of Prathabha Nrithakala Kendram and trained several disciples. In 1954, he performed ''Thilakkunna Mannu'' (Simmering Sand) which supported and advocated agrarian revolution. It received wide acclaim and was praised by the then President
Rajendra Prasad
Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...
and Vice-President
Dr. Radhakrishnan
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...
.
Chandrasekharan's creative contribution includes such compositions as ''Voice of Travancore'', ''Manishada'', ''Shiva Thandavam'', ''Ganesha Nritham'', ''Ardhanareeswaram'', ''Surya Nritham'', ''Geethopadesam'', Kalidasa's ''Kumara Sambhavam'', ''Sakunthalam'', Kumaran Asan's ''Chandala Bhikshuki'', Vallathol's ''Magdalena Mariyam'', ''Guruvum Sishyanum'', Vayalar's ''Ayisha'', Changampuzha's ''Ramanan'', ''Markandeyan'', ''Mohini'', ''Rugmangada'', ''Savithri'', ''Dakshayagom'', ''Ekalavyan'', ''Chilappadikaram'', ''Pigmalin'' (adaptation of a Greek original), ''Fisherman's Revenge'' (adaptation of a Chinese original), ''Prapidiyan Pathalathil'' (adaptation of the Japanese ''Esashiyuvo''), ''Salome'' (based on the Biblical character of the same name) and many more. He composed and performed several ballets such as ''Sri Guruvayurappan'', ''Kumara Sambhavam'', ''Sri Ayyappan'', ''Hrishya Sringan'', and ''Sri Hanuman''.
A production of particular note by the late guru is ''Himavante Makkal'' (Children of the Himalayas) which was created in 1964 as a response to the Indo-Chinese border conflict of the same year. Having seen it, V.V. Giri, the governor of Kerala at the time was so impressed that he invited Chandrasekharan to the
Raj Bhavan of Kerala as an honoured guest. The following is an excerpt from his official praise for the play:
"I am delighted to witness a performance a dance drama based on National Integration presented by Pratibha Nrithakala Kendra, Trivandrum, and directed by the famous and distinguished dancer Chandrasekharan. This play describes the various periods through which we have passed from Vedic period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...
up to the present day. It is a most thought-provoking play and one who attends this function will feel enthused and inspired and would strengthen his spirit of patriotism and love of sacrifice for his country."
In 1965 Guru Chandrasekharan composed a play which was the first of its kind (in any of the official languages) based on the
Mahabharatha
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Ku ...
character
Karna
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...
. Chandrasekharan played the role of Karna with a cast of over 100 others. It was presented in Trivandrum and ran for a considerable amount of time. It was produced by Kala Nilayam Theatres. He further produced another opera, ''Bhishmar'', which was also based on a Mahabharata character of the same name. This production was undertaken entirely by his own production company and, while it was a critical success, failed financially, forcing him to withdraw from the scene. He did, however, undertake other artistic pursuits well into the 1980s.
He was honoured by his peers in 1976 with an award from the
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy. At a public function to celebrate his
Shashtipurthi (60th birthday) at Hassan Marrikar Hall, Trivandrum (with Prof. Ayappa Panicker acting as the master of ceremonies), he was conferred the title of "Guru" by the city of Trivandrum. Chandrasekharan has written several articles and periodicals about the dance forms of India. His book on
Bharathanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...
''Natiya Nirishanam'' is one of the defining works on the subject and was the culmination of research conducted under the Fellowship Award from the government of India. He was also a prolific oil painter and received an award from the government of Kerala for his art work in 1973.
Personal life
Chandrasekharan married Mohanavalli Amma who belonged to the Kalappurakkal House, Karumaloor, North Paravur, Kerala, India. She was the daughter of V.K Gopala Panicker, Asst, Superintendent of Police in the former Travancore State. Because of the hardships he endured during his artistic career, he did not encourage his children to follow him into the field. His eldest son, Santhikumar, is a food technologist settled in Canada, and his younger son, Krishnakumar, is a Dy director in the (Sports Authority of India). One of his daughters, Ragini died in the late 2000s and his youngest child Renuka is a former actress and a classical dancer.
Chandrasekharan died in Trivandrum of cardiac arrest at the age of 82 on 5 August 1998.
The poet Harindranth Chatopadhyaya wrote this to him on 21 February 1952.
"Courage is this that single willed
unaided lone you build and build
which shows you have the spirits pluck
so from the heart, I wish you luck."
![Mithranikethan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Mithranikethan.jpg)
References
External links
Guru Chandrasekharan, Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrasekharan, Guru
Indian male dancers
Performers of Indian classical dance
1916 births
1998 deaths
Teachers of Indian classical dance
Kathakali exponents
Artists from Thiruvananthapuram
Academic staff of Visva-Bharati University
Dancers from Kerala
20th-century Indian dancers
Educators from Kerala
Indian dance teachers
20th-century Indian educators
Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award