Tapasya Kala Sampradaya, set up in 1997 under the guidance of eminent Natyacharya K. P. Kittappa Pillai, is an alliance of resource persons, artistes, research scholars and students bound by the common vision of cultural preservation. The aim is to research and document India’s profound cultural and spiritual heritage in its authentic form in collaboration with original resource persons, masters and artistes.
- Preservation of traditional art and heritage.
- Research and documentation of original cultural and spiritual traditions.
- Dissemination of research findings: Classes, Workshops, Seminars, Programs, Audiovisual presentations, Publications.
- Support for artistes and resource persons.
- Orientation of students to traditional art and culture.
- To create awareness on the need to preserve traditional culture.
(Indu) Jayanthi Varma trained under Kamala Laxman, a Padma Bhushan Awardee, from the age of six. Her arangretram at the Music Academy, Chennai and several performances with her Guru followed. Indu continued her training under Natyacarya K. P. Kittappa Pillai of Tanjavur. This association culminated in the establishment of Tapasya Kala Sampradaya with the vision of preserving India’s original cultural heritage.
Indu was part of the research team of Marainduvarum Marabugal, Tapasya’s research documentary funded in part by India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore. Indu has helped reconstruct several compositions from the temple and court repertoire under the guidance of senior resource persons from hereditary families. She has performed widely within India and abroad and has trained several students in traditional Bharatanatyam. She also interacts extensively with students from schools and colleges in her quest to create awareness on the need to preserve traditional heritage. A former member of the Board of Studies, Faculty of Dance, University of Madras, Indu has authored and published books and articles on traditional culture and spirituality.
Marainduvarum Marabugal Documentary
Tapasya’s research documentary Marainduvarum Marabugal, funded in part by India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore, captures eminent masters and artistes from hereditary families from the field of Bharatanatyam and its music, sharing nuances of their art and artistic heritage.
Filmed in traditional centres of art like Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Kanchipuram etc. this film is the only source material available on several eminent artistes no longer with us. Marainduvarum Marabugal gives us an insight into traditional teaching techniques and the artistic legacy of the renowned families that nurtured and preserved the ancient art of Bharatanatyam.
Edited from over 50 hours of tape, Marainduvarum Marabugal is the result of extensive research and intense interaction with the traditional masters. This project aims to bring alive the brilliant art of these exceptional teachers and artistes.
Tapasya expresses its gratitude to all the resource persons featured in this documentary.
Publications
Tapasya has also brought out publications of traditional compositions revived from palm leaf manuscripts preserved with the hereditary families.
The Tapasya team has reconstructed several compositions from the temple and court repertoire. The Tyagesa Kuravanji and the Pallakki Seva Prabhandam were performed at the Tiruvarur Temple under the guidance of Smt P. R. Thilakam, a Padma Shri Awardee.
Similar efforts under the guidance of Guru Kittappa Pillai and Pandanallur Gopalakrishnan include the temple traditions of the Navasandhi Kauthuvams and the Sarvendra Bhupala Kuravanji and several rare compositions of the Tanjore Quartet.
Tapasya’s current project is a research documentary on traditional art forms.