ABSTRACT
In 1939, Krishnamurty introduced Louise Lightfoot to a very talented young dancer at Kalamanadalam. This extraordinary dancer was Ananda Shivaram, who studied as well as tutored Kathakali dance at this institution. In a world replete with distrust, emptiness and mindless destruction, Louise was mesmerised by Shivaram’s excellence in dance, personality and spiritual attachment to his art. Shivaram was not pleased with the way Kathakali was then being used for onstage performances, lacking in full costume and makeup. Despite critical acclaim coming their way, both Louise and Shivaram found that earning money was emerging as a bigger problem. In 1941, Shivaram returned to Bangalore along with his drummer, Variar. He started giving Louise lessons in Kathakali. Louise and Shivaram returned to Madras and met with filmmaker K. Subramaniam with an eye to bagging a role for Shivaram and his new female dance partner. Shivaram was on his way to becoming an international star.
