Express News Service
CHENNAI: On March 27, singer SP Balasubrahmanyam and lyricist R Vairamuthu released a song that focussed on humanity’s fight against the pandemic. The song goes Corona Corona Corona… anuvai vidavum siriyadhu, anugundai vidavum periyadhu… (Corona, you are smaller than an atom but more lethal than an atom bomb).
A couple of months later, on June 3, dancer Chinnamannur J Krishna Kumar seemed inspired by this song and rendered a dance composition. He released a two-minute video of him dancing to this corona special in a traditional Bharatanatyam attire, in his garden. His goal was simple: to propagate the Tamil proverb Noyatra Vazhavey Kuravatra Selvam meaning life without sickness is the limitless wealth.
Meaningful movements
In step with the protocols that denizens of the world are forced to follow, Kumar too did his bit to spread the message especially among his students and their parents. He devised a new meaning for SMS — S for social distancing, M for mask, and S for sanitiser.
“In the initial two months classes were cancelled and I couldn’t step out. Parents of my students would call and often complain about the kids getting lethargic and not practising regularly. I mulled over it and decided to bounce back with online classes. I’m not at all in for this transformation but there’s no other option. Before beginning my class, I reiterate SMS to my students and ask them to follow regularly,” he shares .
A resident of Adyar, Kumar managed his dance school Shri Nrithyalaya from his home. Before the lockdown, he also held classes on weekends at Saraswathi Kala Kendra in Vellore. But like most other creative fields, Kumar too had to make the transition owing to the Corona crisis.
“I’ve been conducting online classes from June 1. Weekends are for my 120 students from Vellore. The classes begin at 8 am and go on till 9 pm with half an hour break after every session. Weekdays are for my 40 students in Chennai. Since the kids have been attending Zoom classes for school purposes, it has become easier for them to adapt to this as well,” he says.
Dance is for everyone
Growing up in a small village called Chinnamanur near Theni, Kumar was inclined towards classical dance from his young days.
“I used to dance in school functions. While people appreciated my skills, they mocked me for choosing classical dance. Teachers were hesitant to accept male students. I would cry for hours. One day, I chanced upon information about Kalakshetra in an article by dancer Anita Ratnam for Ananda Vikatan. I immediately packed my bags.
My parents were not supportive of my decision so I had to come to Chennai against their will. Nobody from my family is in this field,” opens up Kumar, the first male dancer who won the Swarna Kamal National Award for his contribution to dance, in New Delhi last year. The dancer moved to Chennai in 1993. After graduating from Kalakshetra, he was under the tutelage of Padma Bhushan awardee, dancer CV Chandrasekhar for many years.
“I was his first senior disciple in 1997. My teacher was a disciplinarian and I studied in a gurukul. He refused to take fees and asked me to pay only after I started earning. Soon after, I began teaching dance, I realised there was a class divide in people choosing this dance form. I wanted to train talented kids from all strata of society. That’s when I decided to teach the lesser-privileged kids in Vellore,” he says.
Recently Kumar and his students also performed online to the song Maithreem Bhajatha . It was organised by Rotary International District 3201 (covering various districts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu) for felicitating Holger Knaack, Rotary International President-Elect who is set to take charge on July 1, 2020.
A global artiste
Known for his message-driven dance compositions, Kumar has performed in several countries and taken part in many fundraisers. In 2018, accompanied by two of his students from Vellore, he performed in Japan to help the Japanese, who were displaced by the tsunami (2011).
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Source: The New Indian Express