Meenakshi Chitharanjan

Meenakshi Chitharanjan

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Category: Art

Meenakshi Chitharanjan Profile

  • Name:
  • Meenakshi Chitharanjan
  • Father:
  • Sabanagayam
  • Mother:
  • Savithri
  • Spouse:
  • Arun Chitharanjan

Meenakshi Chitharanjan Biography

Meenakshi Chitharanjan is a classical dancer and exponent of Bharatanatyam in Pandanallur style. She is the founder of Kaladiksha, dance institution which teaches students in Pandanallur style and strives for preserving this style of dance form. She is a disciple of father-son duo of Chokkalingam Pillai and Subbaraya Pillai. For her outstanding contributions towards the field of classical dance, she was honoured with Padma Shri in 2008. Government of Tamil Nadu honoured her with Kalaimamani Award and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha with Natya Kala Sarathi. She also received honorary title, Natya Choodamani.

 

Meenakshi Chitharanjan was born in Chennai. Her father worked in government sector. She has 4 brothers. She was introduced to the world of classical dance forms at the age of four, where she received training from Pandanallur Chockalingam Pillai and his son Subbaraya Pillai. She performed her Arangettam in Bharathnatyam at the age of 9. Her father got transferred to Delhi, and the family shifted along with him. She visited Chennai during holidays and continued classes under her renowned gurus. She did her graduation in Chennai and very soon got married to Arun Chitharanjan, an orthodontist. He is the grandson of M. Bhaktavatsalam, the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

 

After marriage, she took a break from training and performances. Once she happened to meet Srinivasa Pillai, a percussionist who used to assist her for her performances earlier. He encouraged her to continue with her dance practice. She later trained abhinaya under Kalanidhi Narayanan, and also Padma Subrahmanyam. She set up Kaladiksha, a dance institution in 1991, where she began her career as a teacher, training hundreds of students to keep Pandanallur style alive.

Published: September 12, 2018

Updated: September 12, 2018

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