Secrets of Dance and Science at IIIT Hyderabad and a Rare Patent for Dr Jayachandran Surendran

Jayachandran Surendran’s life is the perfect instance of an engineer-dancer who did not let stereotypes limit him. The doctoral researcher talks about legendary dance gurus and phenomenal leaps of faith that shaped his life work in south Indian dance theory, ethno choreology and Tandava philosophy.

A senior dance research scholar and lecturer at IIIT Hyderabad’s Center for Exact Humanities, Jayachandran Surendran recently defended his Ph.D on form neutral, style neutral fundamentals of dance. Through his research, he built a pedagogical dance teaching tool called Atam, which is one of the rarest patencies, awarded in India in the arts domain. 

Tandava, Tevaram, Thillana & Tech: Jayachandran’s quad-core Destiny
Renouncing an ascending career graph, with a high paying role in a leading multi-national, Jayachandran would opt to dedicate himself to the pursuit of dance theory. His supreme sacrifice was rewarded, with tutelage under legendary greats like Leela Samson, CV Chandrashekhar, Bragha Bessell, Kumbakonam Jeevaratnamala, Tiravarur Rama Tilakamma, et al.

His passion would bring him to Kalakshetra, South India’s leading dance Institute where he would spend nine years, immersed in studying dance systems and documenting priceless artifacts. His fascination for temple architecture, Kondi Devadasi dance and Thanjavur’s music scene would earn him three masters’ degrees and take him across Tamil Nadu, to trace the common thread between discrete dance forms and temple rituals.

A tangential entry into dance
It was definitely serendipity that brought three-year-old Jayachandran of Perambur into the world of dance. The kindergartener’s impromptu dance in class would see him getting marched to the Principal’s office at Don Bosco Primary School. Instead of chastising him, the principal would encourage his mother to enroll him into Saraswati Kala Kendra, under the tutelage of Meera Narayanan.  When he moved to St. Mary’s Matriculation, his parents wanted him to focus on academics, but it was the compassion of dance teacher Gopinathan, that allowed him to grow as a dancer. The President Award winning scout, concurrently completed his Praveen Uttarardh (equivalent to a BA in Hindi), under Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha.

While Jayachandran’s heart was set on medicine, his 12th board scores got him into B. E. (ECE) in Government College of Engineering, Salem (1996-2000). Here, he excelled in classical dance, shone at regional and national level. Dance programs in and around Salem would earn his college troupe, accolades and a bit of pocket money. His engineering college provided a fertile space for creativity to blossom. Jayachandran designed semi classical pieces by his favorite composers Illayaraja and A R Rahman and produced two dance-dramas; Uloha Dharpanam for Salem Steel Plant and Stree Sthapitam Vijay in praise of temple architects. His choreography of A R Rahman’s Vande mataram for the 50th year of Indian Independence, would win them awards across South India and fourth in a national competition at Bombay.

Trailblazing career and tough choices
Jayachandran’s campus placement at Delhi’s Wipro Infotech in September 2000 would be a stroke of good luck because “that is where I met my dance guru, Leela Samson. Going back to fundamentals, the disciplined systematic approach, passion and values that she inculcated in me, was tremendous”, he notes.  Concurrently, at Wipro, the proactive customer support engineer had already received a special performance award in his first year and two years later, saw promotions to Bangalore and Chennai. At Chennai, his pursuit of dance continued under the tutelage of Gurus CV Chandrashekhar and Jaya Chandrashekhar.

When Leela Sampson became director of Kalakshetra in 2005, Jayachandran would take a life-changing leap of faith to join the Institute at possibly 1/10th his corporate pay scale. Much to everyone’s dismay, the momentous decision to join Kalakshetra, in spite of Wipro’s fabulous onsite opportunity at Dallas, would see Jayachandran pivoting to a higher calling.

Secrets unveiled at Kalakshetra
“Since I was working for the research section of Kalakshetra, I found a treasure trove of Rukmini Devi’s personal belongings that blew my mind”, says Jayachandran who began archiving original artifacts, dating back to 1936. It was the history of art in India itself unfolding. There was powerful material relating to India’s art and freedom movement; correspondence of George Bernard Shaw, MK Gandhi, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Dr. George Sydney Arundale, Dr. Annie Besant and several luminaries like Mysore Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and Rabindranath Tagore, the early patrons of Kalakshetra.

The correspondence discussed their ideas to build institutions to bring back the spine of India. Beauty, Education and Art were three linchpin words that repeatedly appeared in the writings and their argument was that it was poetry, music, dance and theater which would restore Indian-ness. “History unfolded as I saw Annie Besant giving asylum to Dr. Maria Montessori during World War 2. Rukmini Devi was one of her first Indian mentees”.

Nrityanjali and the pursuit of knowledge
During his Kalakshetra days, Jayachandran acquired a diploma in Shaiva Siddhanta from Annamalai University, completed a course in Indian archaeology and epigraphy, three Masters’ degrees; in history and philosophy from Annamalai University and MA in Bharatanatyam from the University of Madras. He studied temple dance with Devadasis from Kumbakonam and under the Thiruvazhaputtur sisters, in the Kondi Devadasi tradition. He has received the Nava Nartaka award from Dasyam Trust Chennai and the You Rise Award at Bangalore for his contribution to dance.

When Jayachandran won the best lecture demonstration award from Music Academy Chennai in 2009, he received several invitations to talk on the connection between Tiruvarur temple rituals and dance. His TED styled inaugural lecture on architecture and choreography at TM Krishna Shabda.co.in launch can be found on YouTube. He believes that it was the dedication of the Indologists and Indophiles in Indian History, Art, Literature and Philosophy that he met, who influenced his decision to pursue doctoral research.

Catalyzing Art and Science at IIITH
Jayachandran’s next leap of faith was in response to a forwarded email about IIIT Hyderabad’s Center for Exact Humanities. “IIITH was my fourth Ph.D application! Prof. Navjyoti who took my initial interview was very impressed by my proposed research on Tandava and that is when I realized that I was in the right place. Many traditional Indian dance systems can be formally traced back to the Idea of Tandava of Shiva”, remarks Jayachandran who joined IIITH in September 2014 after a nine-year tenure at Kalakshetra.

“In thirteen sessions at IIITH, I cover the universal dance movements which are form-neutral and style-neutral for first year B. Tech students”, explains Jayachandran who taught modules in temple architecture and Natyashastra before serious research took up all his time. Over his fifteen-year study of temple architecture with Umapathi and Vizhinathan Acharya, traditional Vishwakarmas of Kumbakonam, he has remained fascinated by the math, logic and confluence of science and art in Indian temple architecture and iconography.

“Whether it was collaborating with my research supervisor Prof. Vinoo Alluri from Cognitive Science Lab, Prof. Vineet Gandhi on recognizing facial patterns from Kathakali abhinaya expressions or Prof. Avinash Sharma on deciphering the formal nature of Indian dance movements, what I appreciate in IIITH is the freedom given to work with fundamentals. My doctoral research reinforces the idea that the foundation of arts and science are both very formal”, he observes.

A visiting faculty at the Florida-based Vedic Wellness University, Jayachandran is popular on the circuit for his talks on Shaiva, Tandava of Shiva and Tevaram Shaiva compositions of Tamil Nadu. He has done a series of workshops on the philosophy of the texts, hand gestures and movement for Priyadarshini Govind’s KG Foundation, and a series on hasta abhinaya for Houston-based danseuse Dr. Ratna Kumar.

Anecdotes that spice up class
“In my travels around Tamil Nadu, I was amazed at Temple art’s adaptability to newer mediums”, explains Jayachandran. He cites instances of South India’s earliest filmmakers inviting dance teachers from Thanjavur and Kuchipudi to choreograph movie dance sequences at Gemini and Vijayavauhini studios of Chennai. “From Thanjavur royals, I learnt about greater amalgamations on an unimaginably larger confluential scale; like the Persian origins of certain Kathak moves, of Thillana and the adaptation of European violin and harmonium to Carnatic music”.  Sadir, the precursor to Bharatanatyam, was designed by the Thanjavur Quartet in Devadasi tradition, as royal entertainment for the Maratha Imperial Court and later Mohiniattam was created for Travancore’s Maharaja Swathi Tirunal.

Community that raised him
“I was blessed to have friends and college professors who appreciated my dance and boosted my confidence” says Jayachandran. His father, a retired regional manager of Thyssenkrupp, a German firm, with a fondness for cultural arts, encouraged him and his sister, a trained Carnatic singer, poetess, physiotherapist and five-time author.

At different points, training for half marathons, yoga, meditation and Vipassana have been part of Jayachandran’s fitness regimen.  “My generation is blessed to have witnessed the last phase of life and art of legendary artistes like Dr. M S Subbalakshmi, D.K. Pattammal, M.L. Vasanthakumari and Kumar Gandharva”, he muses.

“It was Prof. Navjyoti Singh who ignited the light of research in me. It was the Center for Exact Humanities which taught me the cross-disciplinary approach to studies and research. The unique research environment, the space that IIITH has offered me and the financial support along with a Lectureship, I don’t think any institute would have done it”, observes the researcher.

The Banyan tree logo of the Theosophical Society and Kalakshetra hold great significance to Jayachandran’s growth story. “When I saw IIIT Hyderabad’s emblem of the Banyan tree, it meant everything. I now seek the next banyan tree”, he quips.