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Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life
An intimate portrait of one of the great performing artists of the twentieth century
This is the first complete biography of T. Balasaraswati (1918–1984), a dancer and musician from southern India who became recognized worldwide as one of the great performing artists of the twentieth century. In India she was a legend in her own time, acclaimed before she was thirty years old as the great dancer of traditional bharata natyam. Balasaraswati was a passionate revolutionary, an entirely modern artist whose impact was proclaimed by some of the most prominent figures in contemporary dance in India and the West. Her art and life defined the heart of a tradition. Her life story offers an extraordinary view of the enigmatic matrilineal devadasi community and traditional artistic practice from which modern South Indian dance styles have emerged. This deeply engaging biography draws together Balasaraswati's personal account of her life and her reflections on the process of making dance and music. It includes the commentary of family members and dozens of contemporaries from throughout her fifty-year career, revealing hereditary artistic values and conventions that have virtually disappeared in modern India. The book is generously illustrated with rare historical photos and a duotone gallery of distinguished photographers' images of Balasaraswati's dancing.
Hardcover is un-jacketed.
This is the first complete biography of T. Balasaraswati (1918–1984), a dancer and musician from southern India who became recognized worldwide as one of the great performing artists of the twentieth century. In India she was a legend in her own time, acclaimed before she was thirty years old as the great dancer of traditional bharata natyam. Balasaraswati was a passionate revolutionary, an entirely modern artist whose impact was proclaimed by some of the most prominent figures in contemporary dance in India and the West. Her art and life defined the heart of a tradition. Her life story offers an extraordinary view of the enigmatic matrilineal devadasi community and traditional artistic practice from which modern South Indian dance styles have emerged. This deeply engaging biography draws together Balasaraswati's personal account of her life and her reflections on the process of making dance and music. It includes the commentary of family members and dozens of contemporaries from throughout her fifty-year career, revealing hereditary artistic values and conventions that have virtually disappeared in modern India. The book is generously illustrated with rare historical photos and a duotone gallery of distinguished photographers' images of Balasaraswati's dancing.
Hardcover is un-jacketed.
- GenresBiography
364 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 3, 2016
An inspiring story of an amazing artist and her dedication to her art form..this is one amaxing biography that takes you through her life as if you are witnessing her perform
May 13, 2023
--- Edit 13 May 2023 ---
Today is Balamma's 105th birth anniversary, and I can't help but bump this up. I am still moved to tears whenever I come across any video/article of her's and I am consequently reminded of her bhakti and what dance meant to her.
What an eye-opener this book was!
And absolutely devastating how the contemporary narratives around Devadasis conveniently erased all of this and so much more from our spaces.
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Original Note - 24 May 2022
🙏🏾🙏🏾🥺🥺🙏🏾🙏🏾🥺🥺
I am just so moved by Balasaraswati garu's life that I am at a loss for words right now!
How do I articulate that I feel so blessed for having the chance to have experienced her atma samarpana to Bharatanatyam? Even if it's just via a book.
How do I articulate that I am so moved by her bhakti that I am left in tears just reading about it?
How do I articulate about how confused and how cheated I feel that Devadasis like Balasaraswati garu are not a part of my History books.
About how angry I am that Devadasis' deeply felt spiritual, devotional experiences of dance and music are buried and cremated without any understanding of their depth and complexity.
Balamma is a blessing to dance and arts. She is a blessing to Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music.
And I feel blessed for having experienced her bhakti, her principles, and her simplicity, even if it's just via this book.
Koti dandalu to her son-in-law, Douglas M. Knight Jr., for giving us this gem of a book. Super grateful to him 🙏🏾
If you ever want to know anything about Devadasis, about Indian music and dance, I hope you pick up this book 🙏🏾
Today is Balamma's 105th birth anniversary, and I can't help but bump this up. I am still moved to tears whenever I come across any video/article of her's and I am consequently reminded of her bhakti and what dance meant to her.
What an eye-opener this book was!
And absolutely devastating how the contemporary narratives around Devadasis conveniently erased all of this and so much more from our spaces.
-----------
Original Note - 24 May 2022
🙏🏾🙏🏾🥺🥺🙏🏾🙏🏾🥺🥺
I am just so moved by Balasaraswati garu's life that I am at a loss for words right now!
How do I articulate that I feel so blessed for having the chance to have experienced her atma samarpana to Bharatanatyam? Even if it's just via a book.
How do I articulate that I am so moved by her bhakti that I am left in tears just reading about it?
How do I articulate about how confused and how cheated I feel that Devadasis like Balasaraswati garu are not a part of my History books.
About how angry I am that Devadasis' deeply felt spiritual, devotional experiences of dance and music are buried and cremated without any understanding of their depth and complexity.
Balamma is a blessing to dance and arts. She is a blessing to Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music.
And I feel blessed for having experienced her bhakti, her principles, and her simplicity, even if it's just via this book.
Koti dandalu to her son-in-law, Douglas M. Knight Jr., for giving us this gem of a book. Super grateful to him 🙏🏾
If you ever want to know anything about Devadasis, about Indian music and dance, I hope you pick up this book 🙏🏾
October 9, 2020
I came across Balasaraswati from TJS George’s biography of MS Subbulakskmi. This book is a great introduction to a wonderful artiste from the Devadasi community. Bala lived through a change in fortune and loss of respectability of her community, a direct outcome of powerful Indian social reformers influenced by Victorian notions of morality. Bala and her art endure these changes and find recognition, unlike many many others, a true testament to her talent. It is very difficult to imagine a Bharatanatyam artist holding audience from Japan to Hawaii spellbound during hours if performing. It is sad that her art was not recorded for posterity. There are some beautiful anecdotes in the book, like the time Bala sets out to dance to Siva in Chidambaram convinced that a lapsed rhythm was a consequence of an upset Lord. It gives us a true glimpse into the spirituality of a devadasi, contrary to the popular image spun by the moralists.
October 8, 2017
Another beautiful, awe inspiring biography. The history of devadasis and tawaifs, reflects the history of womanhood in India.
Strong, independent, gifted women such as Balasaraswati. Born into a family as reputed as Vina Dhanamal's, she imbibed tradition and art from childhood and stuck to her roots.
It was her steadfast faith in her art, her absolute dedication and her determination to carry the torch forward (even as the world changed it's views about bharatnatyam ), that made Balasaraswati who she was.
Strong, independent, gifted women such as Balasaraswati. Born into a family as reputed as Vina Dhanamal's, she imbibed tradition and art from childhood and stuck to her roots.
It was her steadfast faith in her art, her absolute dedication and her determination to carry the torch forward (even as the world changed it's views about bharatnatyam ), that made Balasaraswati who she was.
October 21, 2012
This book written by her Balasarswati's son-in-law Douglas M. Knight Jr. enlightened me a lot about her life, her values, her struggles, her personality, her dancing style and her dedication to the traditional style of Bharatanatyam .
This is a very well researched book and based on interviews with Balasaraswati’s family members, friends, fellow artists as well as published/unpublished writings about her and reviews of her performances
More than 50 illustrations adorn this well produced book . But the highlight of the book is 16 plates of high quality black and white photographs which successfully capture the beauty, grace and emotion of Balasaraswati’s dance.
A must read for all the Indian classical music and dance lovers!
Read an extended review of this book at
http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.in/201...
This is a very well researched book and based on interviews with Balasaraswati’s family members, friends, fellow artists as well as published/unpublished writings about her and reviews of her performances
More than 50 illustrations adorn this well produced book . But the highlight of the book is 16 plates of high quality black and white photographs which successfully capture the beauty, grace and emotion of Balasaraswati’s dance.
A must read for all the Indian classical music and dance lovers!
Read an extended review of this book at
http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.in/201...
August 26, 2013
loved every but of this nostalgic narrative from a person who obviously adored his subject. Felt super despondent at not having witnessed her on stage. Perhaps I can watch her son! and so inspirational for practicing dancers. My own dance in dance class went up a few notches by virtue of just reading this.
December 31, 2025
I love how she never let compliments get the better of her and always had faith in her skills without losing sight of the ground. She kept practicing with utmost dedication till the very end. I don't want to pedestalise her but many of the qualities of this woman are so simple yet so inspiring.
January 3, 2013
My review can be read at: http://muddledup.wordpress.com/2012/0...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews