Rajee Narayan
Sruti|June 2018

The dance guru who defied the odds.

Rajee Narayan

Seated in a dignified manner, draped in a beautiful, traditional silk sari, Mumbai based veteran Bharatanatyam guru Rajee Narayan looks a picture of poise and contentment that does not betray the struggles and toil she has gone through in her long and illustrious life. Revered and admired as a guru today, she is an institution unto herself, with hordes of students owing allegiance to her Bharatanatyam and life-lessons.

Born on 19 August 1931 as the eleventh child to S. Narayana Iyer and Gangammal in Chennai, Rajee took to the fine arts like fish to water. Her father was a well-known figure in the arts scene, staging his own productions and even producing films, in which his large family played most of the roles. He had formed The Shining Star Society with his children, to popularise the music records of HMV. Barely four-and-a-half years old, little Rajee recorded the Telugu song Neraminchakura and went on to record stories and songs for children and several plays. Around 1937-38, she acted and sang in the movies that her father produced, like Shakti Maya, Bala Bhaktan and Sant Eknath, where she played lead roles, singing the songs herself.

Rajee’s mother Gangammal was a well-known singer. She would sing along with Kadappai Lakshmiammal, founder of Indu Madar Lakshmi Vilasa Sabha. This was established specially to encourage talent in women, to participate in dance-dramas and Kolata Jothrai festivals. The talent for singing, acting and dancing ran in their veins, and it is no surprise that Rajee naturally learnt the arts and started performing at a very young age.

This story is from the June 2018 edition of Sruti.

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This story is from the June 2018 edition of Sruti.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.