Rukmini Devi Arundale - Mother of Modern Bharatanatyam

Rukmini Devi Arundale’s first inspiration to learn dance came when she met the celebrated ballerina Anna Pavlova after being enthralled by her performances. At 24 years old, her apprehension was that she was ‘too old to start learning dance.’ A dwindling dance from in the 1930s, Bharatanatyam had for many decades been falling apart from disrepute and neglect. In Rukmini Devi’s words, “it was almost extinct…and there was discouragement from almost all quarters…The dancers had no status or recognition.” Her mind made up, Rukmini Devi managed to convince greats like Mylapore Gowri Amma and M. Sundaram Pillai to become her gurus. At the age of 31, she debuted with the Arangetram that would change Bharatanatyam forever. She founded Kalakshetra in Chennai along with her husband George Arundale; a school of dance and music based on the Gurukul system. She continued to refine the dance form, removing from it certain elements of eroticism, while innovating on costume, lighting and instruments. Enriching the dance further, she collaborated with scholars and classical musicians to co-create dance dramas based on the epics. A Theosophist and a passionate legislator for animal welfare, she was also the first woman nominee to the Rajya Sabha and turned down an offer to become the President of India. Thanks largely to her, Bharatanatyam was resuscitated and reborn.

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