The night Sita renamed her father: How Natarajan became Soorya Krishnamoorthy

Soorya Krishnamoorthy—a renowned performing arts expert, playwright, and screenwriter—passed away a short while ago due to a liver-related disease. Born Natarajan Krishnamoorthy into a prominent family of engineers in Kerala, he founded the Soorya Stage and Film Society in 1977. His passing comes just as the arts organisation—which fostered a vast network of friends and associates, including former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam—marks its fiftieth anniversary.

Krishnamoorthy has occasionally mentioned that it was his daughter, Sita, who rechristened him after he left his job at ISRO to dedicate himself entirely to the activities of 'Soorya'. In those days, Krishnamoorthy would return home around midnight after finishing his theatre-related work at the Tagore Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram. However late, he never missed bringing a gift for his daughter. Once, upon returning late at night as usual, Krishnamoorthy forgot to bring a gift for his daughter, who was then a second-grader. Sita asked, "What did you bring for me, Dad?"

This question turned into a realisation for Krishnamoorthy. He learned with a heavy heart that the family was struggling financially as he was dedicating everything towards a redundant theatre experiment. To somehow address his daughter’s queries, Krishnamoorthy told her, “I forgot, dear; I’ll buy it tomorrow."

An adorable Sita told her father, “Don't forget tomorrow, Dad," and she immediately cut the conversation to call him “Hey Soorya Krishnamoorthy”.

The next day, before the play was staged at the Tagore Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram, Krishnamoorthy gave dolls to two girls sitting in the front row. One of them was Sita and the other the daughter of a theatre artist—a child who had been crying from hunger. Even after taking the doll, Sita thanked addressing him as "Soorya Krishnamoorthy." It was the beginning of Soorya and the end of Natarajan.