My Guru -- Dr.Padma Subramanyam
Padma Subramanyam is a multi-faceted personality. Apart from being a famous Bharatnatyam dancer, she is a research scholar, choreographer, musician, teacher, author and indologist.She is now the director of 'Nrithyodaya'- the dance school founded in 1942 by her father, in Chennai.
Padma Subrahmanyam started learning dance under Kausalya, a young teacher at Nrithyodaya. Later, she came under the wings of guru Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai. She had her 'arangetram' (first performance) in 1956, since then she has given innumerable performances in concerts conducted by her guru, her school in India and toured abroad extensively.
Padma has a Bachelor degree in music, Master in Ethno Musicology and Ph.D in dance from Annamalai University. As a research scholar she did her thesis on 'Karanas in Indian dance and sculpture' and highlighted the fact that the 108 Karanas (which is the basic units of dance) are actually movements and not just static poses. She has also designed the sculptures of the 108 Karanas of Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati in black granite for the Nataraja temple at Satara in Maharashtra.
Padma Subramanyam has many awards and honours to her credit. These include - 'Padma Bhushan', `Padmashri', `Sangeet Natak Akademi Award' and `Kalaimamani Award'. She has also received the prestigious `Fukokawa Asian Cultural Prize' from Japan for her contribution to development and harmony in Asia.
