For background information on the Dhananjayans, please refer to my earlier post here.

2008 is a milestone year for the Dhananjayans. The dance school, Bharata Kalanjali,  turns 40 and it's the 70th birth year of  Naatyaachaarya Dhananjayan. To celebrate the milestones, the legendary couple along with their senior disciple Padmarani Rasiah Cantu were on their “farewell tour” presenting “Bhakthi Maargam”, which was promoted as a presentation consisting of “a traditional Maargam repertoire featuring the best of their fifty years of artistic excellence in choreography.” The musicians consisted of Babu Parameswaran (vocal), Nellai D Kannan (mridangam) and Eswar Ramakrishnan (violin). 

The tour included an evening in the Boston area on November 1st. I pounced at the first opportunity to reserve tickets and couldn't wait for the evening to arrive. And what an evening it was! In Boston, the troupe was joined by another senior disciple of the Dhananjayans, Sangeetha VijayaSarathy.  The program began with the invocatory item,  Natyaanjali, a nritta piece that was performed to perfection by all four dancers of the evening. This was one of the first items that was introduced when the dance school was founded in 1968. The second item was “Sri Rama Pattabhiska Bhangam”, which depicted the central piece of the Ramayana, wherein Kuni connives with Kaikayee to crown Bharatha as the king of Ayodhya and send Rama to forest for 14 years . Padmarani Rasiah was superb in her role as Kuni, maintaining that hunchback all through the dance while enthralling the audience with her abhinaya . I have heard Ramayana a gazillion times before, but for the first time through Shantha Dhananjayan's performance, I was able to feel the overflowing affection that Kaikayee had for Lord Rama, her sense of insecurity as Kuni explains why she should feel anger and not affection, and her determination to stick to her plot even as Dasaratha falls down on his knees. Naatyaachaarya Dhanjayan's performance as Dasaratha only made the story complete as he beautifully portrayed Dasaratha's emotional turmoil as he is torn between keeping up his promises to Kaikayee and the love for his first born. The dance was followed by a brief intermission.

The second half of the program began with Mayilvaahana Mohanam by Padmarani Rasiah. Every mudra, every jathi, every eye movement was delivered immaculately, something that comes from rigorous practice and unwillingness to compromise. Naatyaarcharyar Dhananjayan was clearly the star of the evening with his performance of “Varugalaamo Ayya” from Nandanaar. In this padam, he enacted a whole gamut of emotions; joy, pain, anger, helplessness, but most of all ardent devotion for Lord Shiva. I am not exaggerating when I say that the performance left some members of the audience brimming with tears.  The second last dance was for a bhajan performed by Shantha Dhananhayan. The program concluded with a well choreographed thillana executed by Naatyaachaarya and his disciples.

It was a delight to witness the legendary dancers and their disciples perform with such passion and pure devotion for the art form, defying the limitations of their age. I thought to myself that the next time I huff and puff after a 10 minute Swarajathi, I should know better than blaming it on my age. As I left the auditorium, my heart was filled with gratification and my mind ignited with inspiration.

Born in Malaysia to a prosperous Indian family and recognized as a child prodigy, she came to Kalakshetra to develop her flair for dance. She was 8 years old then. She is Shantha Dhanjayan, also affectionately addressed as “akka”.

Hailing from Payyanur, and born in a large family with modest income, he came to Kalakshetra to nurture his creative spark. He was 14 years then, and he joined the dance school a year after Shantha did. He is Vannadil Pudiyaveettil Dhananjayan, also respectfully called  as “anna”.

They grew up together in Kalakshetra for the next decade or so, taking lead roles, excelling as star performers, and earning their Post Diploma degrees with distinction under the auspices of Rukmani Arundale.  A few years down the line, the dancers decided to extend their partnership in dance to life as well, the biggest beneficiary of which has been the Bharatanaatyam community, and the Indian art and culture at large. The journey of togetherness had just begun in 1966 when the couple tied the knot;  today they are popularly known as  “The Dhananjayans”. 

In 1968, the Dhananjayans started their dance school Bharata Kalanjali through which they have groomed generations of artistes in Indian classical dance, music and allied arts. Over the years, they  have fostered the merging of male and female dance styles, infused innovation through collaboration with non-Indian art forms,  and have won numerous prestigious awards in India and abroad. 2008 is a milestone year for the Dhananjayans. The dance school, Bharata Kalanjali,  turns 40 and it's the 70th birth year of  Naatyaachaarya Dhananjayan.

A good friend who has trained under the Dhananjayans as well as their senior disciple  Padmarani Rasiah Cantu at their Yogaville camp tells me how well the couple compliment each other in all areas, be it on stage, in class or in life. She tells me, Shantha, an arithmetic genius, can come up with hundreds of combinations of jathis for a given set of thalam. She is the person that works behind the scenes making sure that everything from ironing of the costume to co-ordinating with the musicians is in order. Dhananjayan, on the other hand, regales the audience with his mesmerizing abhinaya, and is the spokesperson of the two. It's such a visual treat to watch the two perform as a duo. Don't take my word for it, check out the video clipping below, and you will see how well synchronized their movements are. God bless the couple!


To me, the Dhananjayans are living example of what heights two talented individuals can reach when they have mastered the art of working together as a team. Acknowledging each other's areas of strengths and weaknesses, shedding one's ego and keeping an open mind, being grounded to the same value system, and subordinating individual interest to group interests. These are some of the lessons that I would like to emulate from the Dhananjayanss, in dance and in life.

P.S.: I would urge you to watch this one hour long video clipping. To say that it's inspiring is an understatement.