Pandanallur Style - The Teachers

The Teachers

Meenakshisundaram Pillai was an ancestral nattuvanar who was descended from the Tanjore Quartet, which refers to four brothers: Chinnaiah, Ponniah, Sivanandam and Vadivel. The works of these four brothers, who were court composers in the early 19th century in Thanjavur, form the main classical masterpieces of Bharata Natyam.

Thiruvallaputhur Swaminatha Pillai, also known as T.K.Swaminatha Pillai, was one of the leading disciples of Minakshisundaram Pillai. He leaned Bharathanatiyam under the Gurukula of Minakshisundaram Pillai for more than 10 years. She also taught Ram Gopal, who was one of the pioneers of Indian dance in the west.

Meenakshisundaram Pillai was said to have been trained by his uncle Kumarasamy Nattuvanar. He trained several famous Bharata Natyam dancers including devadasis such as Pandanallur Jayalakshmi, Thangachi Ammal, Sabaranjitam, as well as people from other castes such as Mrinalini Sarabhai, Rukmini Devi, Tara Chaudhri and others.

After Minakshisundaram Pillai, it was his son-in-law Chokkalingam Pillai (1893–1968) who became the doyen Guru of the Pandanallur style. His leading dancer-student was Mambalam Geetha. He also trained other leading dancers such as G. Kausalya, Sucharita, Indrani Rehman, and others. He moved to Madras and taught there.

Subbaraya Pillai (1914–2008), Chokkalingam Pillai's son, was the next leading Guru of the Pandanallur style. He grew up in the village of Pandanallur and was an apprentice under his grandfather and father. He trained leading dancers such as Alarmel Valli, Meenakshi Chitharanjan, and others.His grand daughter Vanitha Rajasekar is teaching dance in Valasaravakkam,chennai-87,Tamilnadu.

The great "Amma" is credited to this as well.