Was Balamma a difficult person? Temperamental as most good artistes are?
Balamma was temperamental, moody and openly demonstrated her like and dislike. Perhaps that stemmed out of a feeling of insecurity there was only the art to fall back on. My father got me many programmes after my arangetram, and she really didn’t mind. But later, she started feeling that her daughter was not getting enough exposure. After my father’s demise, in about five or six years time, the classes shut down completely for various reasons. But that period of Bala’s life was very sad. Did she die an unhappy person? Yes and no. She had a raw deal in her personal life. Her daughter married an American who wanted her to shift there. Then she (her daughter) wanted to dance but Bala didn’t think she would. Bala tried to create a platform for her but nothing big happened. Meanwhile Balamma’s health deteriorated. But a few days before she died she told another old artiste friend of hers that my sister (Nandini) and I were her disciples and that we would safeguard this art form very well. N
