When Bharatnatyam exponent Rukmini Devi could have been President of India

CHENNAI: A career politician who was happy to accept the post of President on Wednesday saluted an artist who refused to be tempted by the trappings of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

President Pranab Mukherjee recalled how theosophist, Bharatnatyam exponent and founder of Kalakshetra, Rukmini Devi Arundale, could have been President if she accepted an offer by then Prime Minister Morarji Desai in 1977.

"But her refusal spoke volumes of her character, wisdom and sagacity and exemplified the values of renunciation and sacrifice that India has traditionally inculcated," Mukherjee said, deviating from a prepared text during the inaugural Rukmini Devi Memorial Lecture at Kalakshetra.

These twin values were personified by Mahatma Gandhi. "The spirit of renunciation was... in our value system. Rukmini represented that value system. I salute her."
"I was a Congress MP at the time and Morarji Desai proposed that Rukmini Devi fill the vacancy caused by the death of President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed," Mukherjee said. "The choice was very widely appreciated and if she agreed, she would have been elected unanimously."

As it happened, then Lok Sabha speaker Neelam Sanjiva Reddy became President. Mukherjee deviated from his speech following an anecdote by Kalakshetra Foundation chairman Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who said in his welcome address that Rukmini Devi preferred to host Presidents at Kalakshetra rather than become one and was wary of the pomp and trappings of office.

Mukherjee said Rabindranath Tagore was among the early supporters of Rukmini Devi's vision to revive India's artistic traditions. Tagore was one of the early patrons of Besant Memorial School, which later became part of the Kalakshetra Foundation. "Gurudev is believed to have been so captivated by the name Kalakshetra, he remarked that had the name occurred to him when he founded Santiniketan, he would have chosen it instead."

Alluding to its location in Thiruvanmiyur, he noted that Kalakshetra was once considered "on the outskirts of Madras, where a sandy stretch of beach blossomed into a verdant ecosystem nurturing arts and crafts".

"What Kalakshetra is to Thiruvanmiyur, Santiniketan is to Bolpur. What Kalakshetra is to Chennai, Santiniketan is to Kolkata," Mukherjee said. "They are havens of peace, temples of the arts and beacons for humanity. Creativity requires both silence and the opportunity to connect with the wellspring of nature's creative potential and these attributes are at the heart of both Santiniketan and Kalakshetra."

The President's lecture was followed by a presentation of 'Sita Svayamvaram' as originally choreographed by Rukmini Devi.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/mythdd9