As a pedestal for
his visionary goals he founded 'Kalai
Kaviri' the Arts & Communication
Centre in 1977 and maneuvered through
his strategy.
Rev. Msgr. S.M.George effected a unique
revolution of bringing the prestigious
Indian fine art forms, which were once
the pride of only the elite and the
rich, to the access of the common man,
also proving that the socially less-privileged
are equally talented and deserving.
Eager to promote the traditional arts
through systematic training, he founded
KALAI KAVIRI SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS offering
systematic and personalized Part-Time
training in Bharathanatyam in 1983 and
in South Indian Classical Music in 1988,
for school-going children. Further,
Full-time Dance Courses and a Music
School offering Part-time Courses in
South Indian Classical Music were started
in 1988. In 1990, Full-Time Bharathanatyam
Diploma Course was affiliated to the
Bharathidasan University which authentically
recognized the high standard and quality
of training offered here. Affiliation
to the full-time Vocal, Veena Violin
and Mirudangam Courses by the Bharathidasan
University followed in 1992. The full-time
Post-Diploma Course in Bharathanatyam
also was affiliated to the University
in 1993.
He gave free training
to deserving and talented children.
Children from all economic and social
categories, specially children of vendors,
daily-wagers, cobbler, tea-shop keepers,
washer-men, fishermen, children from
suburban villages and handicapped children
came forward to learn dance and music,
in the Part-Time courses. This empowerment
of these groups of students, is a historical
and uphill task in our society. A number
of Dalit students who passed through
the portals of Kalai Kaviri would bear
testimony to this historical reality.
This is a Silent Revolution - a Socio-Cultural
Change.
Beyond the Gurukula
tradition of many centuries Rev. Msgr.
S.M.George obtained academic authentication
of university degrees for the Indian
fine art forms to the level of doctoral
studies, the highest peak of academic
excellence. Over centuries the Indian
Fine Arts are taught to the students
only through Gurukula system. This system
exists in very few places and there
has been a dearth of patrons or gurus
to keep alive these most precious art
forms. Rev. Msgr. S.M. George, in order
to perpetuate these art forms, brought
them into the academic realm of University
Education and started KALAI KAVIRI COLLEGE
OF FINE ARTS in 1996, offering Degree
courses, approved by the Government
of Tamilnadu and affiliated to the Bharathidasan
University. He was the Secretary &
Principal from 1996 to 2003.
Transcending the Gurukula
(non-formal training), he elevated Bharathanatyam,
the classical dance, to a unique academic
status of Ph.D. programme. Kalai Kaviri
is the only full-fledged College of
Fine Arts in the Southern region of
the country, founded by Rev.Msgr.S.M.George,
that has launched Ph.D. Programme for
Dance (Bharathanatyam) – the first
of its kind. Opening up opportunities
and facilities for Doctoral studies
for Bharathanatyam, is an academic innovation
in the field. This is a matchless march
by the minority community towards this
point of culmination in Fine Arts.
Rev.Msgr.S.M.George
enabled the art-lovers all over the
world to qualify with university degrees
in the fine arts of ‘Gurukula
tradition’, from wherever they
are, by evolving a unique course-concept
of distance mode of training, THE OFF-CAMPUS
DEGREE PROGRAMME IN BHARATHANATYAM,
for which he was the Director from 2004
to 2008. It is another major and giant
leap in continuation of the Cultural
Mission initiated by Rev.Msgr.S.M.George
in 2004, taking the package of training
and faculty beyond the confines of the
college campus to each art-lover in
any part of the world, wherever they
are, whether employed or undergoing
other courses or at home and enable
them to gain university degrees in this
prestigious Indian art of Bharathanatyam.
Age is no bar. This is offered by Kalai
Kaviri College of Fine Arts in collaboration
with the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli,
using new skills and modern technology
in teaching Bharathanatyam.
Rev.Msgr.S.M.George
brought out very powerfully and beneficially
the communicative dimension of the Indian
art forms and their perennial share
in elevating the urges of the people.
Rev.Msgr.S.M.George removed the illusion
of ‘Art for Art’s sake’
and established that they primarily
have a social re-creative nature. The
performances of THE DANCE TROUPE that
he constituted in 1978, are an on-going
and unique revelation and mission underlining
the communicative scope of Indian dance
and music for the spiritual and social
betterment of humanity. The virtuous
message of Love, Peace and Solidarity,
given through the various classical
and folk dances with a blend of electronic
media, have penetrated the hearts of
people from all walks of life, people
of all age groups, belonging to different
linguistic and ethnic groups all over
the country and in the different foreign
countries, and influenced their attitudes
for better.
Rev.Msgr.S.M.George
inculturated the biblical values through
literary works as well as dance and
music compositions, enriching the religion
and the culture mutually.
The major and historical
contribution of Rev.Msgr.S.M.George
in the field of Tamil Literature is
“Yesu Kaviam” an epic of
eminence (the Life of Christ in Tamil),
published by Kalai Kaviri. Written by
the renowned Hindu Poet Laureate Kavinger
Kannadhasan, the epic has seen six major
editions with 3,08,000 copies. It has
drawn the attention of the entire Tamil-speaking
world and is used as part of the syllabus
in schools, colleges and universities
in India and even abroad, and taken
up for research by M.A. and Ph.D. students.
Convinced that the
Indian art forms are based on spiritual
experience both for the performer and
the perceiver, Rev.Msgr.S.M.George introduced
Indian Music and dance as part of the
Christian liturgy (worship). Rev.Msgr.S.M.George,
well aware of the impact of the electronic
media and the power of music as a medium
of communication with God, produced
Christian songs in classical and semi-classical
music based on different traditional
styles like suprabatham, thevaram, keerthanas,
etc. He also brought out the entire
life of Christ in 114 folk songs “nattuppura
isaiyil namma yesaiah” recorded
in 25 audio cassettes, to show the importance
of folk art forms for the mission of
the church.
According to Rev.Msgr.S.M.George,
a cultural institution should be a monument
of cultural beauty in its structure
also. Hence, he conceived, designed
and built Kalai Kaviri’s main
building as an Indian architectural
marvel, with a face-lift of life-size
statues of Indian classical and folk
dance postures, Christ on the cross
as well as the risen Christ represented
in Bharathnatyam, in the front elevation.
The main building and the departments
of dance and music and the open-air
stage are built with Indian temple elevation,
the sthapathy art work in the building,
tall pillars and the roof.
Rev.Msgr.S.M.George
instituted a Drama Team in 1982, which
gives dramas on social awareness and
spiritual awareness themes, basically
staged in rural areas and also in educational
and public institutions.
He started giving ‘Kalai
Kaviri Awards’ from 1989, to be
given every year for talented and deserving
artistes who live in obscurity, in order
to honour them in recognition of their
dedication to fine arts, literature
and other creative fields.
‘Kalai Kaviri
Rolling Shields’ instituted by
him in 1990, to be given every year
to deserving schools for distinguishing
themselves in Fine Arts like dance,
music (vocal and instrumental) and drama
in order to encourage the students to
utilize their talents for noble purposes.
The trust and confidence
that Rev.Msgr.S.M.George built up in
the minds of the people of the city
of Tiruchirappalli, is such that “the
Thirukkural Peravai (Association) consisting
of many Tamil scholars, made him the
president of the Association. As an
effort to promote ‘Thirukkural’
the Tamil literary work of highly valuable
ethical codes common for all religions,
written by Thiruvalluvar the great Tamil
sage, he conducted a memorable three-day
Conference “Thiruvalluvar Festival”
in January 1992. Symposia, Seminars,
Debates, Elocution Contests etc. were
the various high-lights of the conference.
Tamil scholars from all over the state
attended it.
His mastermind, achieved
his visionary goals of unparalleled
glory in the field of Fine Arts that
will go down in the history of Indian
Cultural Heritage.
He always believed
that the “Best is Yet to Come”
and before he could realize many more
of his glorious dreams for Kalai Kaviri,
Rev.Msgr.S.M.George passed away on 20th
October 2008. With his spiritual guidance,
Kalai Kaviri will proceed diligently
with deep commitment, in the path he
paved for promoting the Indian Fine
Art Forms.
