The well known nattuvanar, teacher, choreographer and percussionist was the younger brother of the late guru K.N. Dandayudhapani Pillai.

Born on July 26, 1928, Guru Dakshinamoorthy Pillai hailed from a family of Natya vidwans and musicians, who for generations, kept alive the tradition of dance, percussion and nattuvangam. He trained as a percussionist from an early age. His brother, Dandayuthapani Pillai, inspired and influenced him tremendously. Under his tutelage, he trained in the art of nattuvangam and the choreography of Bharatanatyam. He moved to Delhi in 1953 and opened the Natyakalalayam school. A southerner in north India, he faced the challenges of overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers in teaching Bharatanatyam. He evolved his own teaching style, to train dancers of different linguistic backgrounds. He choreographed new items in Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. He composed and choreographed melapraptis, padams, nrityavandanas and thillanas. He composed hundreds of new jathis. He choreographed them in the style, which has now come to be called the Dandayuthapani Pillai Bani.

He trained several students in the art of Bharatanatyam and conducted hundreds of performances.

His students around the world are continuing his legacy. Notable among them are: Anjana Banerjee in Calcutta, Geeta Chandran in Delhi, Ann Marie Gaston in Canada, Taeko Kurakawa in Japan, Charu Narasimhan in Washington D.C., Nalini Rau in New York, Swapna Sundari and Pushkala in London.

Several artists, such as Usha Srinivasan and Hema Rajagopal were trained under Guru Dandayutha Pani Pillai, and furthered their training with Guru Dakshinamoorthy Pillai. He has performed the nattuvangam for senior artistes like Yamini Krishnamoorthy and Sonal Mansingh. He received the Kalaimamani award from the Tamil Nadu Government in 1985. He received the Sahitya Kala Parishad award in 1992. He served on the Doordharshan Panel, and the Department of Culture's Dance Evaluation Panel.

He is survived by his children Bala, Amrita, Varshini and Veenu. His daughter Veenu in Chennai, hopes to continue the family's intimate association with the performing arts.

If you knew Dakshinamoorthy Pillai, or if you were his student, share anecdotes with us. You can also mail condolence messages. Mail us at editor@kutcheribuzz.com

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