Komala Varadan Biography 
Komala Varadan is an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, painter, author and photographer from Tamil Nadu. Known for her outstanding contributions to Indian art forms, she has been honoured with Padma Shri, India’s fourth Civilian honour in 2005. One of the veteran artists of Bharatnatyam, she is also a recipient of numerous recognitions and titles including - Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman, Bharat Shiromani Award, Kalaimamani Award, Rajyotsava Prashasthi, Natya Rani, Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award, IBC International Woman of the Year Award and Full Circle Inner Flame Award. A multifaceted personality, her life has been documented in an autobiography, Komala Varadan, published in 1985.
She took formal training in Bharatanatyam under Cheyyur Thiruvengada Nattuvanar and Guru Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai of Chennai and performed her first stage show at the age of 10. As a teenager she has performed in Singapore and Malaysia and over the years, has done numerous stage shows including foreign countries. Render of Tulsidas’ ‘Sri Ram Charit Manas’ to traditional ‘Bharatanatyam Margam’ is one of her outstanding contributions, thus integrating North art forms with the south. The inclusion of a Meera bhajan in a Bharatanatyam recital performed in Delhi can also be reminded as a positive move to integrating north with south.
She specializes in capturing dance steps on canvas. With her base in Delhi, she made south Indian dance form Bharatnatyam popular in north India. She founded Kalaikoodam, an institute of arts in New Delhi, which has successfully completed 30 years and trained numerous students. She came to limelight a couple of years ago, when she filed a civil suit against ICCR for categorizing performing artists over the age of 45 as ‘lecture-demonstration presenters’, though couldn’t win it.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 18, 2016
