The Indian Society for Rehabilitation of the Handicapped, chaired by Jaya Bachchan, encourages talented, handicapped children to express themselves through dance. K. Subadra Murthy watches a rehearsal of "Sankara" a dance-drama sponsored by ISRH, to be premiered at the Nehru Auditorium this evening, and is moved by the way Guru Rajee Narayan, choreographer and director, handles the children.

You see a lot of cheerful activity as you enter the SIES school hall. About 35 children of varying ages and sizes are practising dance movements. As you watch, it slowly dawns on you that the usual noisy chatter associated with children is missing. It is then that you realise that a majority of them are deaf and dumb, living in a world of silence. Amongst the dancers you also notice some who are blind, mentally retarded or polio-affected.

These are the children who will participate in the dance-ballet "Sankara" to be premiered this evening. The task of training them has been entrusted to one of the foremost gurus of Bombay, Smt. Rajee Narayan, who has been teaching dance and music for over four decades.

The central theme of untouchability, suggested by ISRH, has been developed by Guru Rajee who has also composed most of the lyrics and music. She has endeavoured to bring out the concept that untouchability is a man-made evil and not a divine decree.

Training normal, healthy children is one thing, but to teach disabled kids not only to dance but to understand this highly philosophical idea is no mean task.

Guru Rajee has succeeded in doing just that in a relatively short period. Having chosen children with potential, from various institutions, she set out to explain in simple terms the episodes and their roles in the ballet, using gestures and mime. She then proceeded to train them, assisted by her senior disciples.

Sensitive to their needs and capacities, she has choreographed the ballet, keeping in mind their handicaps. Those with a sense of rhythm, she has trained to dance the invocatory Bharatanatyam number as well as the folk-dance. The others have been taught simple steps which they can manage.

Each child is made to feel equally important. She feels that even in a dance-drama by the handicapped there should be some sort of footwork and dancing.

Guru Rajee explains that she has reduced all rhythmic movements including those with variations in gati to counts of four, to enable the deaf and mute to co-ordinate with the music they cannot hear, when shown the counts on the hands by her disciples standing at the sides.

While guiding three blind children one day, she suddenly felt somebody gripping her feet and discovered it was one of the children trying to learn the foot-work through the sense of touch.

The mentally retarded have a tendency to forget and have to be constantly given their cues. Patience, affection and encouragement, tempered with a slight touch of strictness appears to be the clue to her success with them.

Guru Rajee has all the qualities of a teacher as mentioned in the shastras. Respected for her eruditic by connoisseurs, critics and other gurus, she is a member of the Bombay University Board for the study of dance.

Her achievements are many, including the much-lauded book "Nritya Geetha Mala", a compilations of the dance songs composed by her, published in 1985.

She has choreographed and presented many dance-dramas as well as varnams in semi-ballet form including her own compositions like "Sri Leela". Her miniballet, "Atom for peace", conceived by the late S. Vasudev for the Nuclear Board was screened in Moscow during the Festival of India.

Widowed at a young age, Guru Rajee started her institution "Nritya Geethajali" in Chembur in 1965 with just six students. Today the institution has branches at Sion and Matunga. Shyamsunder, her only son who underwent heart surgery not long ago assists her in many ways.

1990 is a very significant year for Guru Rajee as this is the silver jubilee of her institution. She has plans to celebrate it with a dance extravaganza in August in which all the students will participate to present a colourful spectacle.

Her capacity to spot and encourage talent has produced outstanding sought-after professionals like P. Chandran, mridangam, Sabita Sadashiv, violin and Jaya Ramammurthy, vocal.

Surrounded now by the talented cast of "Sankara", each of whom are striving against disability to win approving smiles from her, one sees the appropriateness of the title "Shreshta Kala Acharya" conferred on her in 1984 by the Kala Sangam of the Madhya Pradesh Government.

February 10, 1990. The Times of India, Bombay.