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Pandanallur C. Subbaraya Pillai December 7, 1914 - May 12, 2008
Pandanallur C. Subbaraya Pillai (December 7, 1914 - May 12, 2008) to Chokkalingam Pillai and Sengammal in the village of
Pandanallur, which is in the Tanjavur district.
Subbaraya Pillai, together with his father
Chokkalingam Pillai (1893-1968), and his grandfather Minakshisundaram Pillai
(1869-1954) are the creators and repository of the Pandanallur style of
Bharathanatyam.
These three Gurus had a direct access to the
Tanjore Quartet compositions as part of their family heritage. Minakshisundaram Pillai inherited this
knowledge from a relative on his mother's side called Kumarasamy nattuvanar,
who in turn was trained by one of the descendants of the Tanjore Quartet.
Subbaraya Pillai spent his childhood and
adolescence as an apprentice nattuvanar training in the home and school of his
grandfather Minakshisundaram Pillai.
Later, he came with his father, Chokkalingam
Pillai, to Madras and jointly taught with him at a school at Egmore in
Madras. After his father’s death, he continued
to teach at a school in Kilpauk. In his
eighties, he retired from his teaching at the school but continued teaching at
his home.
His wife’s name is Rukmini Ammal and he has three sons and two daughters. He has trained two of his granddaughters, G. Vasumathy and G. Vanitha, as dancers and nattuvanars. His chief patron was the Zamindar of Periakulam, Mrs. Haripriya Ramabhadran.
