BALASARASWATHI: In his book "Balasaraswathi",
Narayan Menon says, "The dancer, in addition to the qualities that pure dancing
demands, must be sensitive to and have an uncanny feeling for music. He or she should
have an artist's sensibility to the significant line and a sculptor's approach to
form. He should have a practised actor's response to a dramatic situation. Rarely
does one come across all these attributes in one and the same person. But when one
does, and Balasarswathi has a generous measure of all these, the result is greatness."
Balasaraswathi, born in the year 1918, was a direct descendant of the dancers and
musicians who performed at the Tanjore court during the Maratha rule. Her ancestor
Papammal was a court musician and dancer, while her grandmother's sister, Vina Dhanam
was a reputed veena player. Her mother too was a noted singer. Bala, as she was
affectionately called, began her training in dance and music at the age of four
under Kandappa. Kandappa's great-grandfather was Chinnayya who belonged to the famous
Tanjore Quartette.
Bala performed her arangetram (formal debut) at the age of seven. Even at that tender
age she was acclaimed by critics and connoisseurs alike as a prodigy. As a child,
she performed some of the most difficult items, stunning the audience with her mastery
of movement and a power of expression beyond her age.
Indian classical music is categorized under two genres. They are
Hindustani and Carnatic. Broadly Hindustani developed in the northern regions of
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