Suryakala, the teacher of teachers of bharatanatyam

Rasikas in Malaysia are undoubtedly familiar with the Temple of Fine Arts (TFA), an institution synonymous with Indian arts and culture. It was established in 1981 by the spiritual guru, Swami Shantanand Saraswati together with dance gurus, Master Gopal Shetty and Master V.K. Sivadas. My own association with TFA began in 1994 when I started work at the Akademi Seni Kebangsaan, known as ASWARA (Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan since 2006). In 1998, when I was appointed the Dean of the School of Dance, I courted their services to deliver the bharatanatyam syllabus as a core course for the duration of the 3-year Diploma and the 3-year Bachelor program that began in 2008.

However, it was only in 2025, while I was on a visit to India with Shankar Kandasamy and Umesh Shetty that I first heard of the name P. Suryakala or Suryakala Akka as she is fondly known, and learned how important she was to TFA, through the lineage of the great teacher Padmashri Guru K. N. Dandayuthapani Pillai. He came from a family of illustrious musicians, was trained, and later became faculty at the acclaimed bharatanatyam college, Kalakshetra under the auspices of Rukhmuni Devi Arundale. However, his legendary compositions and choreography flourished when he founded his own institution, the Natyakalalayam in Chennai, and went on to cement his name amongst the finest artist-teachers of his era. Several of his notable students became legends of music and dance in their own right, and amongst them, the late Adyar K. Lakshman, bharatanatyam exponent Geeta Chandran and the Carnatic mridangam maestro Shri Guruvayur Dorai. He also taught many in the film industry including screen legends Vyjayanthimala and Jayalalitha who went on to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Born on 16 August 1949 and named Surya, she hailed from the same village as her master in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, and was possibly distantly related to him. She was gifted in dance and music and was encouraged by her grandmother to pursue it. She studied in the guru-shishya style and imbibed all the knowledge of music, dance and composition from Guru Dandayuthapani. Impressed by her prodigious talent, one day, he ceremoniously handed her the nattuvangam and empowered her to compose. He subsequently bestowed her the name Suryakala and set her on the path that she has remained true to till this day.

I was blessed to meet Suryakala Akka in person at a celebration at The Temple of Fine Arts, Coimbatore – and became more intrigued. She was reticent, and humble to the point of being self-effacing, unlike an image that I had conjured in my head of a leading bharatanatyam doyenne. She was and is, the main teacher at TFA Chennai and her compositions for dance and music, are still being used by students at TFA and thus, the students at ASWARA too.

                            Guru Suryakala (extreme left) with the 3 Senior Directors of TFA at TFA Coimbatore, India

When I was informed that TFA KL was planning a performance Vande Guru Paramparaam, in tribute to this grand dame and her teacher, I felt it was important to get as much as information as possible for those who had little insight to her journey as a dance teacher. It was Guru Vatsala Sivadas, now Senior Director of TFA KL, and the late Master Sivadas who first met Suryakala Akka at a Kalamandalam Festival performance in Brickfields. Suryakala Akka had come to KL circa 1978 to continue to teach and train two daughters of Mr. Kandasamy (a Sri Lankan Tamil who owned Lakshmi Jewellers in Brickfields and no relation to Shri Shankar) for their Arangetram, after their initial teacher, Shri Dandayuthapani Pillai passed away in 1974. Vatsala Sivadas was mesmerized by her singing and dancing, and subsequently started doing classes with her, inviting the other Senior Director Radha Shetty to join her, learning many dances of the repertoire in the Baani (style, school, system or embodiment) of Dandayuthapani Pillai. Soon Malar Gunaratnam, another Senior Director, as well as the young dancers Sukhi Shetty and Gowri Chandran, also joined these classes. In an interview with Shankar Kandasamy, he emphasized that Suryakala Akka possessed to sing and play the nattuvangam which was a rare gift, and could only be the result of her close association and devotion to her teacher. In 1980, Suryakala Akka was introduced to Swami Shantanand Saraswati who became enamoured by her vocal rendition of Jagadanandakaraka by the composer-saint Thyagaraja, one of the most powerful songs in Carnatic music. In turn, Suryakala Akka was moved by Swamiji, and when he invited her to teach at TFA KL when it was formed in 1981, she joyfully accepted. Suryakala Akka also joined them for numerous performances at the Dewan Tunku Chancellor and PJ Civic Centre, singing and playing the nattuvangam. Further, she was instrumental in formulating the Adavu system and basic repertoire for TFA, and was appointed International Director of TFA in 1990. She continued to actively compose till the early 2000s, but has since slowed with age.

Thus, it is timely that TFA KL celebrates the work of a pioneer teacher, and pays homage to the lineage of great teachers who have given their all to the following generations of dancers and musicians within this institution and beyond. Vande Guru Paramparaam will showcase many of her compositions and dances from the repertoire she taught. It will be a beautiful evening, especially for dance afficionados as well as bharatanatyam students and dancers, who will get to witness the embodiment of history and lineage that is carried in the dancers’ minds and bodies.

Vande Guru Paramparaam took place as follows:

Date: 12 July 2026

Time: 5.30 p.m.

Venue: Shantanand Auditorium, Temple of Fine Arts KL.