‘Narthaki’s proficiency in Thanjavur quartet style makes her shine’

Sometime in the summer of 2003, I first met Narthaki Nataraj. All I knew of her then was that she was a third- gender Bharatanatyam dancer that I am going to interview. Winding up a two-hour-long conversation, Narthaki looked at me intently. Pointing to my ears, she asked, “So you don’t like wearing jewellery.” Before I could answer, she told me, “You are a born woman. So you don’t appreciate being one. For us, it has been a struggle. So we celebrate everything about being a woman. Even if it’s a simple piece of jewellery.” The words like a prophecy stayed with me. 

When I came back to office and listened to my recorded conversation with Narthaki over and over again, I realised what she actually meant. Bharatanatyam for her was a powerful articulation of her femininity – the femininity she had managed to express after a prolonged struggle against the rigid societal resistance. From then on to being the first trans-artist today to receiving an honorary doctorate, Narthaki Nataraj’s journey has neither been easy nor charted. 

I remember how Narthaki animatedly briefed me about realising her feminine side as a ten-year-old. I could still feel the warmth of her hands as she held my little finger to lead me into her dark past. As a ten-year-old, the changes left ‘Nataraj’ confused. The newfound feelings confounded him and Nataraj was not sure if they will stay or leave him. Madurai, his birthplace, was certainly not ready to accept the newfound feelings. Amid much ridicule, Nataraj also found a soul that would redeem him from darkness. Baskar, who would later become Shakthi Baskar, was Narthaki’s first audience. Even as a child, Narthaki had the uncanny talent of imitating dance steps shown in films. Her favourites were Vyjayanthimala and Padmini. She would imitate them. Shakthi knew her friend would win over the world someday, but not if they remained in Madurai. In Madurai, Shakthi says, Narthaki had to practice her art with a ‘sense of shame’.  

After much thought, Narthaki and Shakthi decided they go to Thanjavur in 1984 – the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu. There they met K P Kittappa Pillai – the direct disciple of Thanjavur quartet – who developed a new school in Bharatanatyam. It was perhaps a providential coincidence that Kittappa Pillai had also trained Vyjayanthimala in Bharatanatyam. Kittappa Pillai rechristened Nataraj as Narthaki and took her as his disciple. Till his death in 1999, Narthaki would keep learning the art from him. She also began performing in and around Thanjavur and also had the opportunity of working with Kittappa Pillai in Thanjavur Tamil university for four years. Four years after his death, Narthaki and Shakthi finally moved to Chennai and set up the Velliyambalam school of dance. Today, Narthaki besides being a successful Bharatanatyam artiste and teacher, hops across countries presenting scholarly papers on the art form. 

What makes Narthaki shine as a Bharathanatyam artist today is her proficiency in the Thanjavur quartet style — a rarity in art scene today. She has been propagating the rare compositions of the quartet and practicing the Nayaki Bhava — a style practiced in ancient Tamil temples. Well-versed in Tamil literature, Narthaki often dances to songs from Sangam literature and Bhakthi texts including nalayira divya prabhandam, thevaram and thiru vasagam.  

Awards and recognitions have come in large numbers her way but when Narthaki receives the honorary doctorate from Periyar Maniyammai University on October 14, she would have come a full circle. She was forced to quit after Class 12 due to social stigma. “This doctorate from the academia is really more meaningful than any recognition. Also I am receiving it in Thanjavur, where it all started,” she says.