T.A.Rajalakshmi Ammal

🪔 About

T.A. Rajalakshmi Ammal was a distinguished Bharatanatyam guru from Thiruvidaimarudur, Tamil Nadu, known for her adherence to the Thanjavur baani (style). She received her training from Kuppiah Nattuvanar and grew up in an environment rich with hereditary Nadhaswaram and Thavil artistes, emphasizing the equal importance of music in her dance education. She was a repository of many Tanjore Quartet varnams, and her favorite was “Dhaanike thakuja” in Thodi ragam. After a period in Calcutta, she resided in Pattinapakkam, Chennai. In the early 1980s, she returned to her native place, Thiruvidaimarudur, and began teaching Bharatanatyam at Janaranjani Sabha in Kumbakonam. Following a knee injury sustained from a bus fall, which severely limited her mobility, she continued to teach from her home in Thiruvidaimarudur. She encouraged her students to sing and perform for the sahitya portions of their pieces, believing it aided in expression. Rajalakshmi Ammal passed away on June 4, 2003. She was considered a "fountain of hereditary repertoire" and a "treasure trove for many dancers and musicians post independence" due to her deep knowledge of traditional compositions. She performed nattuvangam for her student M. Venkatakrishnan's arangetram on September 1, 1993, while seated due to her injury. After settling in Thiruvidaimarudur, many Nadhaswaram artistes also sought her out to learn rare padams.