BHASKAR Krishna Pillay
Performing Arts in Singapore (Dance),
Accession Number 002568
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 22
Total Reels
- Ghalpanah Thangaraju
Interviewer
- 08:35:28
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
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Reel/Disc 1 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:26:19
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Born in Kerala, India in 1925. Description of matriarchal society in Kerala. Family background. Father had his own copra business. Learnt Sanskrit from a live-in teacher. Later picked up many other languages, including Malay. Mother learnt poetry and won many contests.
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Reel/Disc 2 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:21:42
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Description of his mother. Custom to sing in every house in the morning. Relationship with mother. Relationship with father. Father thought education was very important. Compulsory primary education in Kerala. Father sang devotional songs. Father provided food for the poor and set up a trust for poor children.
Music, dance and artistic events like poetry recitals and dramas were an integral part of life in Kerala. Many performances were staged in temples. Was exposed to all these influences. Performers were perceived to be disreputable.
Told parents he wanted to learn dance when he was five or six years old but father did not want him to learn music or dance. Later when he was about fifteen, he would sneak off to watch dance performances against his parents' wishes. Went to Guru Gopinath's show and told him that he wanted to learn dance from him. Guru asked that his father write to him first.
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Reel/Disc 3 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:26:10
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Teacher carried him to school. Was placed in Standard I when only three years old. Was upset with father's decision to let his sister learn classical Indian music while he was not allowed to. Description of how he came to join Guru Gopinath's school. In 1940 he joined Guru Gopinath's school. Studied there for about 2 years. Description of training. Facilities at school were provided by king. Later went to learn Kathakali from two other teachers. Joined Uthay Shanker's dance group in 1944.
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Reel/Disc 4 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:29:06
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Detailed description of Kathakali dance. Kathakali was a dance drama. History of today's Kathakali dance form. Most of drama taken from such Indian epics as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Similarities with Chinese opera. Kathakali often performed for temple festivals and other occasions.
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Reel/Disc 5 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:26:43
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
History of Kathakali dance and performances in Singapore. Many Malayalees worked at Sembawang Naval Base. Few of them had learnt Kathakali in India. They put up a performance for Onam festival. Started Singapore Kathakali Society in 1959. Was President of the Society. Practised in a house in Sembawang and brought costumes from India. Most of performers held full time jobs as well. Also performed in Malaysia and in the Istana. When British pulled out of Naval Base, some of these performers went back to India or even migrated to England. Society was later disbanded. His involvement in the society was limited to supervision and was separate from his dance school. No non-Malayalee Kathakali performers.
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Reel/Disc 6 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:22:52
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Kathakali Society's performances were mostly attended by Indians only. Planned to use Malay, Tamil and Chinese medium songs to attract non-Malayalee audience today. Description of Kathakali techniques learnt. Description of training with Uthay Shanker. Faced financial difficulties whilst training to be a dancer. Was involved in community work and the National Theatre Trust Committee. Indian dances popular because they were entertaining. Description of how he came to Singapore in 1952.
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Reel/Disc 7 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:21:27
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Description of how he ended up coming to Singapore from India instead of going on to Australia. Description of ship journey to Singapore. Taught dance lessons in the Kamala Women's Club in Singapore during his first three months here.No other teachers teaching Bharatanatyam in Singapore at that time. Stayed in a hotel in Lavender Street. Description of how he was summoned to the Special Branch Police Headquarters and told not to go to Australia.Taught Indian dance to British girls in Art of Dance School at River Valley Road.
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Reel/Disc 8 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:16:35
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Description of his journey to Singapore. Was quarantined before being allowed to step into Singapore. Stayed in a hotel in Bencoolen Street. Was paid 100 dollars as a dance teacher and had about 40 students during his first 3 months in Singapore. Later moved to room at Art Of Dance School in River Valley Road. Description of Bencoolen area. Many Jews lived in Middle Road. Bencoolen area had a lot of shophouses. People living on the top floor of the shophouse would buy food from street hawkers by lowering a basket with their cash to the hawker.
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Reel/Disc 9 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:22:34
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Cinema was a popular form of entertainment in Singapore. Went to Tamil and Hindi shows. Used to get invitations to press releases of films from both Cathay and Shaw organisations. Usually went to Royal Theatre, Diamond Theatre and Taj Theatre in Geylang. Was to have directed the dance for a P. Ramlee film, Hang Tuah, but was away in India getting married.
Later danced for other films. Wife danced for a Malay film called Badang directed by Indian director. He and his wife also choreographed dance sequences for other films. Dance students came from rich upper class Indian families, like the Brahmin families. Helped poorer students by lowering dance fees for them. Learning dance helped Indian girls in Singapore, especially Ceylonese girls, get married more easily since a knowledge in the arts meant that they could pay a smaller dowry.
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Reel/Disc 10 of 22
Metadata
- 4 Oct 2001
Recording Date
- 00:25:30
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Description of how he started his dance company and school, Bhaskar's Academy of Dance. Names of dancers who came to Singapore to teach. Only Western dance schools existed at the time. Description of Western dance groups and dancers then. Also learnt some ballet when he was in India. Later Indian Fine Arts Society was set up and began to teach Indian dance also. Also conducted classes in Johore and Kluang. Had about 60 students in Singapore, especially in Sembawang.
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