Her enthusiasm is infectious and she spreads cheer and joy around. For the women in the kolattam coterie in Chennai, Jayalakshmi Venugopal is the icon who makes women even after 70 dance to her tunes. Born in an aristocratic family in Naduvakkari, a lush village in the fertile Cauvery delta, Jayalakshmi was passionate about acquiring knowledge and keeping herself occupied.
Her father wanted to give the best education to his children and shifted to the holy town of Kumbakonam. At St Joseph’s Convent in Kumbakonam Jayalakshmi was given a platform to showcase her talents in elocution, oratory, theatre and music. Since it was pre-Independence days, she used to sing patriotic songs which kindled national fervour.
“I used to memorise Bharathiar’s songs quickly to perform on stage and our teachers inculcated the spirit of freedom,” declares Jayalakshmi who reminisces about her youth with nostalgia. I was awed by her enunciation and chaste English. It was not common for women to learn English those days as it was taboo. But Jayalakshmi couldn’t care less for conservatism and studied in a convent. “I used to stage dramas and used to pen the script myself,” smiles the versatile woman.
Jayalakshmi reels off into poetic verses and comments on the lucidity in Wordsworth and Byron’s language. This proves her incredible memory.
 “My sisters were well-trained in music and I used to listen and sit along with them when they practiced,” avers Jayalakshmi. To comprehend slokas better, music is the only medium which makes us understand and remember, quips the kolattam mami who has learnt several Azhwar Pasurams from Kamalamma, difficult though as the meter is difficult and may vary accordingly.
To recite Sri Vedanta Desikar’s ‘Raghuveera Gadhyam’ is itself very difficult but Jayalakshmi leant it with music. A lover of fine arts, she choreographed Andal Kalyanam incorporating pinnal kolattam exclusively with women. Jayalakshmi feels that kolattam and gummi - a form of group dance – will improve our stamina as the energy level is high.
Her group has performed pinnal kolattam and gummi in many places and has earned laurels for its style and elegance.
She now plans to stage the lifehistory of spiritual preceptor Vedanta Desikar and Ramayana.
|