Wednesday 10 September 2014

Tribute - Maya Rao: Memories of a great teacher - Prasanna Kasthuri


It was 1986. Roads of a quiet suburb Malleswaram in Bangalore now called Silicon city of India were far calmer than what they are today. I used to ride on my bicycle thrice a week to learn something new, but never had an opportunity until Guru Maya Rao’s second act of her life happened. It was Kathak. Kathak was very fascinating to me. I had seen probably one or two shows and many pictures of the Kathak dance style in Marg publications. It was a great boon for me and others such as Rathna Supriya, Nirmala Madhava, Nandini Mehta, Shubha Dhananjaya, Rajendra, Nirupama, Ashok, Charu, Suparna, Suma MP and Syed Salluddin Pasha – who were all in our twenties attending Kathak classes. We were all geared up to learn. There were some voices of discontent among leading Bharatanatyam gurus of Bangalore that someone is getting all attention from government, starting from chief minister of those days, Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde. But, all those who were interested in Guru Maya Rao, were very much curious to learn an untapped knowledge. 
Lots of us got in and got out of her dance school, but most of us felt it was a unique experience. The guru of our imagination was really manifest in Maya didi. She was very caring and passionate about dance. Her amazing love for those who seek knowledge was a greatest attraction for us. This love is what she leaves behind for all of us.


Read the tribute in the site

1 comment:

  1. Dear prasanna, really you made me to remember the days at Nattya
    especially the choreographic production of Masti Venkatesh Iyengars work
    with the magic(MAYA) OF DIDI the wood can dance and stone can express
    we lost only physical presence of DIDI but her eternal love care concern for her students is immortal
    DR.A.V.SATYANARAYANA
    dancetherapyindia@gmail.com

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