Over time and with lack of initiative, certain events of the past pass into oblivion and fail to get recorded. I was a Bharatanatyam dancer at the age of eleven, the first male to perform a full-scale Arangetral at Sunderbai Hall in 1956, under the auspices of The Film Journalists' Association, Mumbai. Mr. Burjor Pavri was then the President. The Arangetral was presided over by Sardar K.M. Panikkar, historian, art connoisseur and the then Ambassador to Russia.
Read more in the site
As Satish's eldest brother, I am indeed happy and grateful to narthaki.com for helping him document some of the early events of his life -- those that involved so many great personalities of that era.
ReplyDeleteHis article gives the reader a glimpse of the state of affairs of that period. My father was a very enterprising young civil engineer in the Rangoon Municipal Corporation and an eminent palmist, (awarded the title of Prof. KARA), who returned to India as a refugee during the llnd World War and had to restart life from scratch. It was one of his extremely close friends, Uday Shankar (who introduced Indian dance to the western world), that inspired him to encourage at least one of his children to become another Uday Shankar! In spite of his financial handicaps after having to return to this country as a refugee, he invested his wife's inheritance from her family into providing dance tuitions, costumes and musicians to promote Satish. It was no ordinary decision if he sought for his son, training from such eminent Gurus as Kalamandalam's Karunakara Panikar (popularly known as 'Panchali Panikar'), the first Kathakali guru in Mumbai and teacher of other eminent dancer/gurus such as Guru Raghavan Nair, Kanak Rele and Sharmila Tagore!
I recall the admiration and encouragement that Sardar Dr.K.M.Panikar showered on Satish, when he attended the Kerala States Reorganisation Celebration Programme in Delhi, where Satish performed the roles of KRISHNA and BHIMA in Kathakali, sharing the stage with maestros of the stature of Gopinath and Thangamani! He remarked that such a high level of proficiency, just two years after he had presided over Satish's Arangetral in Bharatnatyam at Mumbai, would not have been possible but for Satish’s extraordinary talent and the rigorous training that his Guru would have given him. While awarding gold medals to Gopinath and Satish on the last day of the programme, Sardar Panikar remarked, "If Gopinath can be compared to the glory of the setting sun, then Satish can be compared to the glory of the rising sun!"....
If our father did not let Satish pursue the offers that came his way with his meteoric rise, it is clear that father just could not handle the risks that these opportunities brought with them. That was but natural when one considers his state of mind at that juncture in his life. He spared no pains to ensure that his children embarked on a career with a STEADY INCOME.
The lessons we can take from all this is that simultaneous to having dreams and ambitions and working to achieve them, one should develop the attitude of risk-taking. One more thanks to NARTHAKI for bringing home the story of opportunities found and lost!
Satish has been very successful in his other pursuits throughout his life. BUT having read his article and realised that dancing was his passion, it is not difficult to understand how easy it is to miss out on one's dreams and desires!
Dr(Prof) P.K.M.Pillai programyourdestiny@gmail.com
Having lived in the U.S. for twenty-eight years after marriage, I can say with confidence that if one has the TALENT and TRAINING in Indian music or dance, it is certainly possible to make it one's professional career in this country or anywhere else in the world. There are lucrative opportunities galore all over for performing and teaching. If Satish was able enough to receive so many offers for a great life ahead at such a young age, his choices should have been unbiasedly assessed, for he was too young to do it on his own!
ReplyDeleteTimes have changed! Satish's story brings back great memories of the past glory ... wish the right choice were made on his behalf. His Bharatnatyam recital in Nashik, when he was in the ninth standard, was Nashik's first exposure to this classical dance form. I shared the stage with him for the last "Kurathi" item. It was a great news making event in Nashik with many senior military and civilian personnel attending the function.
Fortunately, opportunities apart, attitudes have changed today. Given the talent, dance has become a respectable career one can choose and be rewarded for it...so, in a way, so to say, lesser slips between the cup and the lip!
Nirmala Kartha (Sister of Satish C. Pillai)
Nimmi Kartha - imakartha@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in the U.S. for nearly thirty-eight years after marriage, I can say with confidence that if one has the TALENT and TRAINING in Indian music or dance, it is certainly possible to make it one's professional career in this country or anywhere else in the world. There are lucrative opportunities galore all over for performing and teaching. If Satish was able enough to receive so many offers for a great life ahead at such a young age, his choices should have been unbiasedly assessed, for he was too young to do it on his own!
Times have changed! Satish's story brings back great memories of the past glory ... wish the right choice were made on his behalf. His Bharatnatyam recital in Nashik, when he was in the ninth standard, was Nashik's first exposure to this classical dance form. I shared the stage with him for the last "Kurathi" item. It was a great news making event in Nashik with many senior military and civilian personnel attending the function.
Fortunately, opportunities apart, attitudes have changed today. Given the talent, dance has become a respectable career one can choose and be rewarded for it...so, in a way, so to say, lesser slips between the cup and the lip!
Nirmala Kartha (Sister of Satish C. Pillai)
Namaste Satish ji,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for sharing this masterpiece of information. I never knew this hidden talent of yours. It is a great feat in more ways than one--being the first male to storm into girls' citadel, at such a young age of eleven, not only Bharat Natyam but also Kathakali.
We are fortunate to be associated with such an accomplished person like you who has been our well- wisher for decades and on whom we can always count for help and suggestions.
Wish you good health and continued success.
Warm regards
R.K.Sehgal