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 G. Sundari of Kalakshetra - VP Dhananjayan e-mail: bkalanjali@gmail.com Photos courtesy: VP Dhananjayan & Subha Nilakanta February 17, 2022 G. Sundari of Kalakshetra passed away on the morning of February 3, 2022 in a comfortable home in Chennai. She was 93 years old. She served Kalakshetra as Superintendent of studies, was Secretary to Rukmini Devi and Sankara Menon till she retired. She was a close friend of N. Ram of The Hindu. She had her education in Besant Theosophical High School. After post graduation, she joined Kalakshetra assisting Rukmini Devi and Sankara Menon to build the institution. Her dedicated service to the institution is laudable. She lived in the Theosophical Society in Adyar, Chennai, for most of her life. She was instrumental in helping publish 3 books on the Kalakshetra stalwarts: 'Nirmalam: The genius of S Sarada,' 'Sankara Menon Purushothaman,' and 'Krishnaveni of Kalakshetra.' 
Thanks to Preetha Reddy (of Apollo Hospitals), Sundari Teacher as she is popularly known, had a good and very comfortable old age care in a Home for the last few years. With her demise, another important branch of the Banyan Tree falls. Sundari was a kind hearted lady. She helped poor students with financial assistance out of her own meager salary from Kalakshetra. One of the senior alumni of Kalakshetra, P.T. Narendran says he was offered free accommodation in her house in the Theosophical Society campus until he found his own economical accommodation near Kalakshetra in Thiruvanmiyur. She paid the tuition fees for some of the poor students who wanted to study naatyam and music in Kalakshetra. Recommended by one of her Theosophist friends, she gave free accommodation and food to a less privileged and talented boy from Kerala (Sivadas Rajan) and sent him to our institution Bharata Kalanjali to learn Bharatanaatyam. Now Sivadas Rajan has blossomed into a fine artist and accomplished teacher serving our institution and is a freelance performer and teacher.  President R Venkataraman, Periya Sarada, G Sundari She encouraged me to study for Matriculation and asked me to join the Matriculation classes much against the wishes of Rukmini Devi Amma and others. She took classes in English, history and geography. I owe my English writing and speaking ability to Sundari Teacher. When Kalakshetra was taken over by the new management (Kalakshetra Foundation), both the strong pillars of the institution were asked to retire and vacate the campus. G Sundari gave shelter at home in Theosophical Society, Adyar, to Periya Sarada teacher and looked after her like her own mother, though she was not even a biological relation or blood relation. Unequivocally every one praised Sundari for her humane nature. She was an animal lover and fed all kinds of stray dogs and cats in the Theosophical gardens. When we shifted her from her Theosophical Society home to a new home in Harrington Road, while clearing her desk we found paid and unpaid bills of cat and dog food to the tune of nearly Rs.14,000. She shared her meals from the Theosophical Society bhojanshala with these stray animals who remained very loyal to her. When she realised that she was being taken to a safer and comfortable home, the first thing she asked was, "Who will take care of the poor animals?" and requested us not to starve them. Such was her concern for animals - a real 'Pranimitra' following her mentor Rukmini Devi.  Sundari with her nephew & niece Subha Her niece Subha Nilakanta reminisces about her relationship with her aunt. "I had two aunts who extended to me the caring hand of a mother. One was my father's sister Radha Burnier; the other was my mother's sister, G. Sundari. They were themselves friends, who together saw to my well-being whenever I was away from my parents. My aunt Sundari was born on 21 February 1929 in Thanjavur, where she lived with her family in a large house next to the Big Temple. The youngest of six children, she was 4 years old when her father M.V. Gopalakrishnan, inspired by the Theosophists, gifted away all his property, and moved with his wife Rukmini Ammal and their children to serve the Theosophical Society (TS) at Adyar. Adyar lay on the outskirts of the city. Young Sundari grew up in beautiful natural surroundings, became a favourite with everyone, and made many friends in and outside school. She kept contact with most of them until old age. My grandfather was a scholar by temperament; the house was filled with books. My aunt inherited this quality. At University, she earned a Masters with Distinction in Political Science, and spent long hours communicating with prison inmates for her PhD thesis. Unfortunately, her guide lost the thesis. There were no Xerox machines then - and no copy! Accepting that it was too daunting a task to re-do, she looked ahead towards other avenues. The TS and Kalakshetra were closely aligned at that time. The most attractive avenue led to Kalakshetra - and thus, she devoted her life work between the two institutions. My grandparents' home was open to everyone, always filled with visitors, and in the summertime with their grandchildren. My aunt Sundari was a favourite. We could tease her - and she laughed with us. An aunt who put on no ceremonial airs! She had the rare gift of making every child feel special. She called me 'Honeypot'. For long, I thought I was the only 'honeypot' until I realized all children were her 'honeypots', to be cherished alike. She took me to concerts, dance performances, doctors, nursed me to health, and gave me my first professional assignment when I was still a student - painting posters for Kalakshetra dance-dramas.  Subha with Sundari  Sundari (standing) with her brothers & sister Leela Nilakanta She maintained the 'open house' tradition after my grandparents were no more, and kept her promise to my grandmother to care for S. Sarada (Periya Sarada). We began to call her Sarada Periamma. I still regard Periamma as a dear member of our family. My aunt gave shelter to many who needed a home, whether dance students, foreign visitors, or the destitute. Even animals were cared for. She helped innumerable people in as many ways. She was everybody's aunt. We travelled together on her foreign lecture tours. I found her an ideal travelling companion, careful but eager for adventures. She was talking about travelling together again to the Andamans, a few years before she fell ill and was shifted to a Home by her doctors and friends. She remained in Chennai for medical attention, where her students took wonderful care of her. She passed away on 3 February this year. I am sure she left behind her Andamans dream after travelling into God's incomparable realms, and there is no wish left to travel anywhere else. May her soul rest in peace."  V.P. Dhananjayan is the artistic director of Bharata Kalanjali, Chennai. Post your comments Please provide your name and email id along with your comment. All appropriate comments posted with name and email id in the blog will also be featured in the site. |
