In this personal column, Delhi based well known dancer and alumnus of Kalakshetra, Leela Samson says in her own words what Rukmini Devi as a guru and as a person meant to her...

"I went to Kalakshetra in 1960-61 as my mother was looking for an education for me that included the arts. People had recommended Shanti Niketan. Lt. Rajan, an ADC to my father, then the Commandant of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla suggested Kalakshetra. He was an Adyar boy and had studied in the Besant Theosophical High School, which I joined that year. I was nine years old.

We were not immediately in touch with Rukmini Devi. My studies took up most of the day. S. Krishnaratnam was Headmaster of the school and dance classes in Kalakshetra were held in the evenings after school. Much later when I was a full-time dance student and when we had shifted to Tiruvanmiyur, I came in touch with Athai during compositions of the dance-dramas and when she interacted with us both on campus and on the odd day at the hostel.

On a normal day, she was always informal, often disarming, inspiring at rehearsals and very sympathetic to personal problems. At formal receptions for visitors and at programmes scheduled on campus she was a distant figure, part of the outside world, bearing a tremendous personality and whom you could see people adore and hold in great esteem. Her vision was at all times elevated. Her role was essentially one of refinement, if not occult. In dance, her genius was awesome. She could pin-point a problem, correctly determine a strength and get the best out of her dancers.

I remember talks by her that covered the range of her concerns. She dwelt a lot upon spirituality in dance, upon vegetarianism, upon love for animals, upon a commitment to the nation and the less fortunate. She had a distaste for hypocricy and shallowness in any form.

I was greatly inspired by the philosophical lectures of Sankara Menon and the music classes of Budulur Krishnamurthy Shastrigal.

I recall moments in the choreography of a new ballet. It was the most inspiring unfolding of creative genius. Athai corresponded personally, in her own hand with several old students, of whom I was privileged to be one. She advised me on matters related to my career and choices I had to make along that journey. She knew the world well and warned often against frivolous choices. When she visited Delhi, I offered to accompany her from one to another appointment. Like this she was able to talk to me in spite of her very rushed schedule. She often talked of the problems that faced Kalakshetra and about the dance world.

She observed from a distance my progress. I built on the strengths of the Kalakshetra training. The only thing I eschewed was in my relationship with the student. I was not as strict as my teachers had been. I may have regretted that on occasion! I also started going into understanding the body and training it for fitness levels apart from the dance input. I had to shed nothing that I had learnt in Kalakshetra. It was all valuable. The one thing I could not replicate, was of course the atmosphere.

Kalakshetra has changed only in that the people in the institute have changed. Homes change when one generation passes on and another takes over. This could be for the better or for the worse. It is a matter of opinion. I miss the people. They were stalwarts, aristocrats in terms of their committment, their dedication to an ideal, their scholarship, their wisdom and their bearing. It is not possible to substitute them, nor equal them. You can only be inspired to do what you are capable of."

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If you are an alumnus of Kalakshetra or trained under Rukmini Devi you can share your experiences with us too.

You can write to Leela Samson who runs a dance academy in Delhi at e-mail: leelas@ndf.vsnl.net.in