Meenakshi Chitharanjan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India |
| Alma mater | Ethiraj College for Women |
| Occupation | Classical dancer |
| Known for | Bharatnatyam |
| Spouse | Arun Chitharanjan |
| Parent(s) | Sabanagayam Savithri |
| Awards | Padma Shri Kalaimamani Award Natya Kala Sarathi Nritya Choodamani |
| Website | Website |
Meenakshi Chitharanjan, an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, is known as an exponent of thePandanallur style of the classical dance form ofBharatanatyam.[1] She is the founder ofKaladiksha, an institution promoting Bharatanatyam and striving to preserve thePandanallur tradition. A disciple of the father-son duo of Chokkalingam Pillai and Subbaraya Pillai,[2] she is a recipient of several honours includingKalaimamani Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu and theNatya Kala Sarathi ofSri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha.[3] The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of thePadma Shri, in 2008, for her contributions to classical dance.[4]
Meenakshi Chitharanjan was born inChennai, in the south Indian state ofTamil Nadu toP. Sabanayagam, a government official, as the youngest and only girl child among his five children.[3] Her mother, Savithri, sent the girl to Pandanallur Chockalingam Pillai, a renowned Bharatanatyam guru, when the child was four, and after training under the Pillai and his son, Subbaraya Pillai, she staged herarangetram (debut) in 1966 at the age of nine.[1] Soon, she moved to Delhi when her father was transferred to the Indian capital, but continued her dance studies under Subbaraya Pillai by visiting Chennai during holidays. She did her college studies atEthiraj College for Women and married Arun Chitharanjan, an orthodontist and the grandson ofM. Bhaktavatsalam, the then chief minister ofTamil Nadu, after which her dance career halted for a while.[3]
She returned to dancing after a chance meeting with Srinivasa Pillai, a percussionist who had playedmridangam as an accompaniment to her in her younger days.[3] She also trainedabhinaya underKalanidhi Narayanan, aPadma Bhushan awardee, and has been performing on stage since then.[5][6] Srinivasa Pillai, S. Pandian andPadma Subrahmanyam have also trained her at various points of time.[7] In 1991, she startedKaladiksha, a dance school for teachingBharatanatyam which has since grown to hold around 100 students at a time and is known to be striving to preserve thePandanallur bani.[1] She has tutored many aspiring dancers andAishwarya R. Dhanush, the wife ofDhanush, the eldest daughter ofRajnikanth and aKalaimamani awardee, is one of her disciples.[8] She received the titleNatya Choodamani of Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and,Kalaimamani Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1975.[9] The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of thePadma Shri in 2008 andSri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha honoured her with the title ofNatya Kala Sarathi in 2014.[7] She is also a recipient of Awards of Excellence from Rotary Club, Chenna and Probus Club, Chennai, and Best Dancer Award (2004) fromMadras Music Academy. She holds the highest artist grade at theDoordarshan.[9]
