Dancer's passage to world of books
R.S. Karunaratne
Very few writers can dance and only a few dancers can write. So, if
you come across a writer who can dance, that is news. Similarly, if you
meet a dancer who can write, that person deserves attention.
I met Subashini Pathmanathan as a dancer about two decades ago. The
shy and petite girl who had her primary education at the CMS Girl's
College, Jaffna had an aptitude for dance from her young age. Her
parents paved the way for her to excel in dancer by sending her to the
Government College for Women in Chandigarh, India where she graduated.
Then she was admitted to the University of Punjab, India for her
postgraduate studies.
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Subashini Pathmanathan in a dance pose |
Unlike many other dancers, she was trained in Bharatha Natyam by the
late Padamshiri Vazhuvoor Ramiapillai for seven years. The revered
teacher conferred the title of "Natya Kala Shikamani" on her. Meanwhile,
she also completed her Diploma course in Bharatha Natyam at the
Vazhuvoorar Classical Bharatha Natyam Art Centre in Chennai, India.
Later, she completed another Diploma course in Bharatna Natyam conducted
by Bharathi Dasan University, Thiruchirapalli, India. At present, she is
reading for her Master's degree in Fine Arts in Bharatha Natyam.
With all her academic qualifications, she launched her career as a
Bharatha Natya teacher 35 years ago. During this long period she has
presented numerous Bharatha Natya dance recitals in Sri Lanka and
abroad.
Subashini established her own dance academy - Vimalothaya Classical
Bharatha Natya Kendra - in Colombo in 1991. Soon the academy became a
hive of activities for training of students and presenting them for
degree programmes in Bharatha Natyam. Now it is affiliated to Kalai
Kaviri College of Fine Arts in Thiruchirapalli and Bharatha Dasan
University, India.
The students of the centre have performed in numerous classical
dancer, recitals, dance dramas and epics.
When the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) was opened in Colombo in 1998,
Subashini was picked to conduct the Bharatha Natyam courses at the ICC.
While conducting lectures, lecture demonstrations, workshops and
seminars, Subashini's services were sought by the Hindu Cultural
Ministry, Hindu Cultural Department and the Art Council of Sri Lanka.
Despite her busy schedule, Subashini also perfected the art of
writing by producing various articles on many aspects of dance both in
English and Tamil. She won the Esmond Wikcremesinghe Award for
Journalism for her creative writing on dance.
Upto now, Subashini has written four books on dance in Tamil. The
books, "Natyakalai" (1993), "Arunkalai Adal Kalai" (1998), "Nunkalai"
Nadanakalai" (1999) and "Paynkalai Bharatha Kalai" (2006) were well
received.
Subashini's latest book "Bharatna Natyam - a Basic Study "is written
in English for non-Tamil speaking students and readers. It will be
launched at the Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo 4 on April 11 at 6 p.m.
The printing of the book has been sponsored by the India - Sri Lanka
Foundation. |
