Jathis sounding like thunder

🪔 About

Guru Indra Rajan (1939 – April 29, 2022) was a highly acclaimed Indian classical dancer, teacher, and nattuvangam artist specializing in Bharatanatyam. Born in 1939 into an Isai Velalar family in Karaikal, Tamil Nadu, she inherited a rich artistic lineage; her grandmother, Sundarambal, was a renowned Sadir dancer, and her mother, Sundara Kamakshi, was a well-known Carnatic vocalist. Her paternal uncles, K.N. Dandayudhapani Pillai and K.N. Pakkiriswami Pillai, were eminent natyacharyas. Indra Rajan began her dance training as a child under Kutralam Ganesa Pillai and made her arangetram (debut performance) at the age of nine in 1952. She moved to Madras (now Chennai) in 1955 to further hone her skills with Tirugokarnam Kalyanasundaram. Throughout her career, she performed extensively across India and internationally, participating in cultural exchange programs of the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram. She also choreographed numerous solo dances and dance-dramas, including "Muruga Saranam," "Sakti Darisanam," and "Kutrala Kuravanji," and contributed choreography to films. In 1968, Indra Rajan established her dance institution, Vadhini Natyalaya, in Chennai, where she trained over 1000 disciples. She held a unique position among women nattuvanars, celebrated for her flamboyant and vibrant style of reciting sollukattus and rendering complicated jati patterns with such precision and vigor that they were described as "sounding like thunder." She performed nattuvangam for celebrated dancers such as Vyjayanthimala Bali, Yamini Krishnamurthi, and Alarmel Valli. Her teaching career also included roles as a lecturer at the Government College of Music, Chennai, and as an 'asthana guru' for over two decades at the BHEL Tiruchi dance institution. She passed away on April 29, 2022. Awards & Honours: Natya Kala Ratnam (1976), Natya Kala Bhushan (1976), Kalaimamani (1991), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1996), Acharya Choodamani (2004), Honored by Narada Gana Sabha Trust (2007).