The jawali, “Sariga Kongu’, as taught to Rukmini Devi by Mylapore Gowri Ammal, depicted the handsome Krishna flirting with the sakhi, a pretty girl whose face is covered with a bordered sari. Ghanam Sinnayya’s (aka Ghanam Krishna Iyer) interpretation of it in Rukmini Devi’s programme catalogue explained this flirtation as, “In the dusk, Radha goes on her way, but seeing Sri Krishna pass by, she covers her face with her gold bordered sari. From under the cover of the sari, she glances towards him as if beckoning to him.
”VAK Rangarao, a Telugu scholar, offers an explanation that the jawali is actually talking of a gopi teasing Krishna about dallying with a woman who has covered her face with a bordered sari. In the long term, Mylapore Gowri Ammal’s interpretation was adopted by Kalakshetra. George Arundale was very much taken by this jawali and would imitate Radha’s coquettish walk and the sari draped on the head and the flirtatious look, much to the amusement of the students at Besant Memorial School.
Any time he saw Karaikkal Sharadambal on the campus, he would request a demonstration of the finer movements of walking forwards heel first, and backwards, toe first, as also gestures of peeping from under a richly embroidered garment. She would oblige, immensely flattered, dancing to a folk song Chinna Chinna Ponne, Chinna Kondai Kari. Rukmini Devi began wearing saris like her sisters at the relatively young age of 13.
When she married George Arundale at 16, she .