Guru Kalyanasundaram, the diminutive master who now heads the institution, walks in, welcomes me warmly, and then takes his time to pay obeisance to every deity and guru in the hall. His calm and assured demeanour and measured words are proof of his years of experience in a life steeped in art. “Ellam periyavanga potta picchai” (It is all the blessings of my elders) is the phrase he uses to constantly remind himself and us, that we are all but actors on God’s stage.