 ‘Bala’
December 1977
 Balasaraswathy affectionately called ‘Bala’ was one of the greatest exponents of Bharat Natyam in our times. She is believed to belong to an authentic devdasi family and hence had dance, music and devotion to God running in her veins.I first learnt about her when I saw a film made about her by Satyajit Ray.
I was totally fascinated. When I arrived in Tamilnadu in 1973 she was already an elderly Guru and rarely anyone saw her perform.
During December 1977, I was working as Secretary to the Governor of Tamilnadu. One day I had to drop a guest of the Governor at Vasant Vihar, the Madras residence of J. Krishmamoorthy (Krishna Ji), the great contemporaryphilosopher When I was about to return I heard a song emanate from the main hall. I stopped in my tracks. Instead of getting into the car I entered the hall. I saw hundreds of people sitting on the floor. An elderly Balasaraswathy wearing a plain white cotton saree with no make-up or dance jewelry standing on a small stage giving an impromptu dance recital.
I did not know it was Krishna Ji’s birthday and she had decided to dance in his honour. Krishna Ji was sitting in the middle, very pleased and contented, his face glowing with an unbelievably shiny aura around him.
 Bala had very aptly chosen the song ‘Krishna nee begane baaro’ (Krishna you come quickly). She was quite old and hardly able to move her legs. But with her facial expression, with her eyes and with her hands and with the intensity of her feeling and devotion she was calling Lord Krishna. Literally begging him to come.
There were no musicians and singers. She was both singing and dancing herself. I forgot my engagements and stood there mesmerized as was everyone else. There was total silence and her feeble voice could be heard vibrating across the hall.
She kept calling Krishna, now smiling, now crying, now folding her hands, now bowing and tears kept rolling down her eyes.
The atmosphere was totally surcharged with emotion and divine energy. We felt as if God was coming. He will enter the hall any moment. The whole place was vibrating. The glow on Krishna Ji’s face kept increasing. The smile on his face kept becoming more and more enigmatic. The dancer was shaking and the whole audience was also shaking. When she finished the song the trance broke. Many people who were holding their breath started sobbing. That day I came closest to experiencing God through the power of devotion in dance.
I also understood why Satyajit Ray had chosen to make a film about Bala. Today Bala is not with us nor is Krishna Ji. But both of them together made us experience God on an otherwise mundane December afternoon.
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