Padma Subrahmanyam (born 4 February 1943, in Madras), is an Indian classical

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

dancer. She is also a research scholar, choreographer, teacher, Indologist and author. She is famous in India as well as abroad; several films and documentaries have been made in her honor by countries such as Japan, Australia and Russia. She is well known as the developer and founder of the dance form Bharata Nrithyam.Narthki.com
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Life and career

Padma Subrahmanyam was born to Krishnaswami Subrahmanyam, the Indian film director and Meenakshi Subrahmanyam on 4 February 1943 in Madras (now Chennai). Her father was a famous Indian

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and her mother, Meenakshi was a music composer and a lyricist in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. She was trained by Vazhuvoor B. Ramaiyah Pillai. She started teaching dance at a very young age of 14 at her father's dance school. She felt that there was a gap between history, theory and dance and started doing her own research. She had her ''rangapravesha'' in 1956. She has taught in Monfort Rukmani Devi, Maharaja Aagarsen and various other schools in the years 2009 to 2011 and imparted knowledge to the children. Padma holds a bachelor's degree in music, a master's degree in

Ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

, as well as a PhD in Dance under the guidance of Kuthur Ramakrishnan Srinivasan, noted archaeologist and a

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

recipient. Her PhD was based on the reconstruction of the 108 karanas, which are dance movements described in the Natyasastra. She has authored many articles, research papers and books and has served as a non-official member of the Indo-Sub-commission for education and culture. She has designed the sculptures of the 108 sculptures of Lord Nataraja and goddess Parvathi in black granite for the Nataraja temple at Satara, an undertaking she took on bidding by the Kanchi Paramacharya. She has given lectures at various universities in southeast Asia, on the subject of cultural links between India and other countries.

Awards

Padma has received

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

in 2024,

in 2003 and

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1981, which are among the highest civilian awards of India. During her dancing career, she has received more than 100 awards, including; *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

(1983) *

(2003) * Padma Shri (1981) *

Kalaimamani Award The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government o ...

from the

government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

Kalidas Samman The Kalidas Samman () is an arts award presented annually by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in India. The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India. The Kalidas Samman was first awarded in 1980. It ...

from the federal

government of Madhya Pradesh The Government of Madhya Pradesh (abbreviated as MP) or Madhya Pradesh Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 55 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the governor of Madhya Prade ...

, * Nishagandhi Puraskaram by the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

in 2015, * Nada Brahmam from Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai, * Bharata Sastra Rakshamani from the Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram . * Nehru Award (1983) from the Soviet Union * Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize from Japan, for "her contribution to development and harmony in Asia"

References

External links

*''India's 50 Most Illustrious Women'' () by Indra Gupta {{DEFAULTSORT:Subrahmanyam, Padma 1943 births Living people Indian dance teachers Indian classical choreographers Bharatanatyam exponents Artists from Chennai Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Indian ethnomusicologists Women ethnomusicologists Indian female classical dancers Indian women choreographers Dancers from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian dancers Women educators from Tamil Nadu Teachers of Indian classical dance 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian women artists Women artists from Tamil Nadu Educators from Tamil Nadu Stella Maris College, Chennai alumni Indian women anthropologists Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship