Dance is a visual medium and you cannot deny that the glamour quotient does play a part in the making of a “star”. Artists, who can combine it with style and substance, shine for long and even light up the path. There are a few who rise like meteors, glitter for a while and fade away. There are others well versed, who follow their chosen path with a determined passion and, over the years, gain a long-lasting luminosity – senior Bharatanatyam exponent Bragha Bessell is one such. This unassuming dancer has endeared herself to rasikas through her art and artistry, especially her abhinaya. Nurtured by eminent gurus, she has blossomed into a mature artist and is following in the footsteps of her two famous gurus to become a “global abhinaya teacher”. In the cover story this month, Bragha Bessell shares many interesting facets about her gurus and her own artistic journey.
As the years roll by, people celebrate the birthdays and anniversaries of eminent personalities past and present. The centenary celebrations of musician, musicologist and teacher ‘Calcutta’ K.S. Krishnamurti was conducted by many of his disciples in December last year. “KSK” – as he was popularly known – was an eminent member of our “Sruti parivaar” led by the Editor-in-Chief N. Pattabhi Raman. He joined Sruti as a Senior Editor, and participated in the work of research and analysis of music and musicians. He was part of the eminent Study Group constituted by the Sruti Foundation to undertake a detailed study of the music of G.N. Balasubramaniam which was presented during a two-day seminar in Chennai. As the group met regularly for almost a year, I remember listening in to his insightful discussions and incisive comments. He also wrote reviews about the music season concerts and was also involved in a comprehensive assessment of Carnatic music that Srutilaunched on the completion of its first decade. KSK Sir had a puckish sense of humour and would often analyse the numerology of our names during free-time. You can read more about him in the centenary tribute penned by his daughter in this issue of Sruti.
With a heavy heart we pay tribute to G. Sundari who passed away in February this year. She was a good friend. Very loyal and deeply associated with Kalakshetra and the Theosophical Society; she knew Kalakshetra inside out. I would telephone her to clear doubts about old happenings and she would willingly share relevant information. On several occasions she volunteered to write about the people she had known. She was a prim and bold woman who liked to call a spade a spade! As she was not tech savvy, we worked out a ‘formula’ to quickly send her articles to Sruti. After writing it out, she would dial me with an “Aiy” and proceed to clearly dictate it to me on the phone. Her articles were always factually correct, crisp and focussed. At Srutiwe will miss “Sundari Teacher”.
We also pay tribute to the “Melody Queen of India” – the one and only Lata Mangeshkar. Meri awaaz hi pehchaan hai sang she -- whose voice was indeed her identity! Her versatility, her felicity of voice, pitch-perfect rendering across octaves and poignant singing have made her music immortal. A true Bharat Ratna!
S. JANAKI