The award in memory of Guru Late K N Dandayudhapani Pillai was bestowed upon her by her colleague and eminent guru Jayalakshmi Alva. The function was organised as part of Nrityotsava-2009, organised by Sridevi Nrithya Kendra run by Guru Jayalakshmi Alva in association with the Ramakrishna Alva Memorial Trust.

Earlier, Bali inaugurated the Nrityotsava-2009 in the presence of Karnataka Bank Chairman Ananthakrishna, Guru Ullal Mohan Kumar, President of District Kannada Sahitya Parishad Pradeep Kumar Kalkura and Former President of State Kannada Sahitya Parishad Harikrishna Punaroor.

She also watched the dance ballet ‘Chitrambala Kuruvanji’ performed by the students of Sridevi Nrithya Kendra. The ballet was composed by Guru Dandayudhapani Pillai and choreographed by Jayalakshmi Alva. The ballet conveys the story of Goddess Parvathi, who was cursed by Lord Shiva to be born human. She is born as princess Vasanthavalli who falls in love with Shiva.

Speaking after accepting the title, Natyakala Tapaswini Vyjayanthimala Bali recalled that she and Jayalakshmi Alva, as disciples of Guru Dandayudhapani Pillai, have performed in the same dance ballet umpteen number of times- she as Vasanthavalli and Alva as Korathi, another prominent character in the ballet. She opined that it is very difficult to find a good guru, even when we have a lot of gurus around us.

Gurus like Pillai had quality and strength and knew what and when to teach. He was a taskmaster and his compositions are beautiful, she recalled. Bali also pointed out that Alva is a strict follower of Pillai’s patterns and style.

Commenting on the award, she said that the title is appropriate as dance is a Tapas (meditation). Dance is divine as it has close association with Indian mythology. She promised that she would attempt to live up to the title. 

Bali also opined that music is an indispensable part of dance and that all dance students should have the basic knowledge in music. Trustee of Sridevi Nrithya Kendra Arathy Shetty and others were present on the occasion.