Sulochana Saralaya
Birth
centenary of renowned Bharatanatyam guru H.R. Keshavmurthy was celebrated on
the 7 September 2019 at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Bengaluru. Keshavmurthy, an SNA
and Shanthala awardee was trained under guru Kolar Gundappa in the Mysore style
of Bharatanatyam. He started Keshava Nritya Shala in the year 1949. The Nritya
Shala has trained hundreds of students, including eminent dancers like Lalitha
Srinivasan, Shyam Prakash (his son), and Vasanthalakshmi (his eldest daughter).
Vasanthalakshmi was one of the first few dancers from Karnataka to be trained
at Kalakshetra, Chennai. His son, Shyam Prakash has taken over the reins of
Keshava Nritya Shala.
President
of MES Education and art connoisseur, Vimala Rangachar, spoke about how Keshavmurthy was responsible
for initiating youngsters into the art form, especially in the Malleshwaram
area as there were no Bharatanatyam institutions in those days. She also spoke
about his daughter Vasanthalakshmi teaching dance to young kids at the Bal
Bhavan, in the Kalakshetra style.
Retired
Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, Chiranjeevi Singh, expressed his
opinion that the Kolar style was exhaustive, while Mysore style was
restrictive. Prof Mysore Subramanya, however, differed from Singh’s view and
explained that the restrictiveness was confined only to the duration of the
performance in the royal court and not in the repertoire. He also said that
unlike many dance gurus, Keshavmurthy regularly attended the monthly concerts
of the Malleshwaram Sangeeta Sabha, as he was a musician (flautist) and a
dancer.
H.N.
Suresh, Director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, showered praises on the centenarian
and specifically mentioned the guru’s choreographed dance-dramas based on great
Kannada epics.
Keshavmurthy
not only initiated all his children into the art form but also those who joined
his family. It was a pleasant sight to see his grandchildren Vidya, Manasi,
Swathi, Raghunandan, Nandakishor and Lasyapriya, present items choreographed by
him. The performance included a rare talamalika jathiswaram in different
nadais. The welcome dance which was specially composed for the centenary was
choreographed by Malini Ravishankar (Keshavmurthy’s daughter-in-law) and
presented by her disciples.
The
curtain came down on the centenary celebrations, with a performance by
disciples of dancer Lalitha Srinivasan, the prime disciple of guru
Keshavmurthy.
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