Melbourne’s classical Indian dance community recently gathered to honour the illustrious Tara Rajkumar OAM, celebrating her remarkable 40-year career as a dancer, teacher and mentor.
Tara Rajkumar, the founder of Natya Sudha, has played a pivotal role in elevating Mohiniyattam and Kathakali dance styles in Australia. Since establishing Natya Sudha in 1986, after teaching in the UK from 1979 to 1986, she is widely recognised as a trailblazer in classical Indian arts in Australia.
Born in Kerala to T. M. B. Nedungadi, former chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam, Tara Rajkumar began learning Kathakali at age four. Her extensive training under legendary gurus, including Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Kalyanikutty Amma, and Mani Madhava Chakyar, has endowed her with unparalleled expertise in Indian classical arts.
Tara Rajkumar’s work is featured in the Immigration Museum in Melbourne in recognition of her contribution to the community as an immigrant to Australia. Her numerous acclaimed productions from Melbourne have been toured in Australia, the United Kingdom, India, New Zealand and Thailand. he developed, for the first time in Australia, a course, New Dance form Old Cultures, for undergraduate students at Monash University.
Tara Rajkumar’s research led to the creation of “Temple Dreaming,” which she produced for the opening of the Performing Arts Centre at Monash University in 1996. The performance reflects Tara’s thoughts on Lightfoot, highlighting her identity, achievements, and ideals. Due to its success, Tara was invited to present “Temple Dreaming” at India’s Golden Jubilee in 1997, celebrating the 50th anniversary of India’s independence, and to tour the subcontinent.
In 2009, Tara Rajkumar became the first member of the Indian arts community to receive the Order of Australia Medal (OAM). In 2018, for her contributions to art, she was selected to receive the Victorian Premier’s Award for Community Harmony.
Senior students of Natya Sudha, including Nithya Gopu Solomon, Dharani Kommalapati, Abhi Jayam, and Roma Narayan, performed a Mohiniyattam dance presentation, enchanting the audience with their skill. The live orchestra, led by Tara and Chandana Brijesh on nattuvangam, featured vocals by Uthra Vijayaraghavan, violin by Murali Kumar, veena by Malathi Vasudevan, mrudangam by Venkat Ramakrishnan, and edakka by Pradush Narayanan, creating an evening of exquisite dance and music.
The gala also showcased performances by renowned Carnatic vocalists Sriranjani Santhanagopalan and Ranjani-Gayatri, instrumental music by the Mysore brothers on violin, and a duet by Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi, along with a Hari Katha by Vishaka Hari, enriching the celebration of Tara Rajkumar’s extraordinary contributions to the arts.
The felicitation was followed by a short film by Vinod Mankara of M4TV productions, chronicling Tara Rajkumar’s life from her early training in Kerala to her contributions in the UK and Australia.
The feliciatation ceremony was organised by InconcertMusic which is the performance arm of Sridhar Chari’s music school. Sridhar Chari presented Tara with an oil painting by Veena maestro Ramnath Iyer.
The event included speakers such as Sonya Russel (Deputy Mayor of Knox Council), Mary Doyle (Federal MP for Aston), Prof. Margaret J Kartomi (Head of Music at Monash University), and Tej Krishen from the Indian Consulate in Melbourne, who praised Tara Rajkumar and the Indian diaspora for preserving classical arts far from home. Attendees included key figures who have been part of Tara’s journey, such as Vasan Srinivasan of FIAV and FIMDV, C Srinivasan (formerly of the Victorian Multicultural Commission), veteran dance teacher Shanthy Rajendran, and many others.
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