Wary of Facebook posts, concerned about fitness and averse to politics, Bharatanatyam doyen Malavika Sarukkai opened up about the classical dance scenario in India, in town to stage her brand-new recital, Vamatara, presented by Tata Steel, at GD Birla Sabhagar on April 8. The chat...

You must have been one of those rare successful college dropouts... 

(Smiles) Yes, I was determined to pursue Bharatanatyam and dropped straight out of Women’s Christian College in Chennai. But I believed in sadhana. I knew I was in for a tough regimen and I was mentally strong to follow that, which is what Bharatanatyam or any classical dance is all about. And parents play an important role in this, like in my case. The learning needs so much commitment that sometimes wannabes fall off the way. Fortunately, as you say, I was a successful dropout as I kept to it for over four decades now.… What has changed a little might be that I was a soloist and now sometimes I join hands with groups and perform together. In a way, I also feel rejuvenated seeing them perform with me. 

How has Bharatanatyam evolved over the years and what has been your contribution towards it?

Bharatanatyam has a rigidity and a tightness when you initially start training. I felt that when I started learning from my gurus Kalyanasundaram or Kalanidhi Pillai, but then it was up to me to explore the space within the tightness (shows by locking her fingers). Slowly and artistically, I evolved and started finding space within that, keeping the roots intact. A huge amount of research and introspection goes into it. Finally, an allarippu is an allarippu and a padam is a padam, we can’t play around with it. When you see my composition on the lotus...

Lotus?

Now don’t get ideas about that being a political move! Lotus has been in our lives for ages — the stem depicts the standing of our lives and the petals are living organisms. It’s there in all forms of our lives... religion, celebrations. I am far from politics and hope no one associates it with one. 

Have you thought about collaborations, especially in the way dancers like Akram Khan do?

I have not felt the need for it so far, though I like the work Akram does (mentions Akram Khan’s production, Torobaka).... I should be convinced who it is for, so I have collaborated with musicians like Aruna Sairam but not really another dancer. 

How have your audiences changed over the years?

Well, can you blame distractions for it? Listening and seeing are two skills that are badly needed at this juncture; students need to see much more than just dance. Plus, of course, concerts and recitals are dwindling. We need people who would savour classical dance, not consume it. We need philanthropists rather than sponsors. Ten to 15 years back, I would have been happy with a sponsor but now I say I need a philanthropist to support classical dance. What is noticeable is the absence of young people as audiences. And it’s international as well. At the Sydney Opera House, I saw the average age of audience was over 50. But it’s our duty to also gel with them.

Which brings us to the question of carrying your legacy...

Well, training is an important question, but train whom? Everyone wants a shortcut to the arangetram (debut performance). And then Bollywood of course. I don’t want to create clones but there should be something in the personality to develop beyond what I teach. I do train one or two but don’t really know who will carry the legacy. Interesting dancers... I see flashes here and there but we need to nurture them. Which means mentor and support them and also financially back them. For example, Akash Odedra is a bright dancer but would need nurturing. 

Should dancers retire?

That applies to every profession, why just dance? But as long as you are fit and healthy, why should you retire? Starting with pranayam and yoga, I am training almost throughout the day and I am careful about what I eat. As you age, you should evolve. So as I said before, I began and will continue as a soloist but am open to performing with groups like I am doing now. We need to constantly raise the bar.

Samarjit Guha (CEO, The Calcutta School of Music)