““When i say Abhinaya, oh, I can't do the abhinaya like what the great man did here yesterday”
- Great Bharatanatyam dancer Balasaraswati next day after Chakyar's lecture-demonstration at Madras Music Academy in 1973.”

“But oh how it feels so real,
Lying here with no one near.
Only you and you can't hear me
When I say softly, slowly.Hold me closer tiny dancer,
Count the headlights on the highway.
Lay me down in sheets of linen,
You had a busy day today.”

“I hate when I'm on a flight and I wake up with a water bottle next to me like oh great now I gotta be responsible for this water bottle”

“Love isn't about what we did yesterday; it's about what we do today and tomorrow and the day after”

“On the day when I was shot, and on the next day, people raised the banners of 'I am Malala'. They did not say 'I am Taliban'.”

“I love you more than songs can say, but I can't keep running after yesterday…”

“Where great whales come sailing by,
Sail and sail, with unshut eye,
Round the world for ever and aye?
When did music come this way?
Children dear, was it yesterday?”

““At least Bharatanatyam is now world famous, with thousands of new votaries. What about Koodiyattam?….. I have done what I can. It has not been easy. One has to sacrifice a lot to learn Koodiyattam. How many persons will be ready for it these days? Will there be an audience capable of imbibing it? ”
-Shri. Māni Mādhava Chākyār to famous Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Dev Arundale, while latter visitited Guru at his residence”

“What man would not be a dancer if he could, said the judge. It’s a great thing, the dance.”

“Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.”