Blog
Chennai with Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam
Portraying India
Bharatanatyam carries the memory of temples, inscriptions, and oral lineages. Its foundation lies in the Natya Shastra, a foundational treatise written over 2,000 years ago, outlining gesture, movement, emotion, and the philosophy behind theatre, dance, and music in India. Across South and Southeast Asia, traces of this tradition survive in carved karanas – dynamic postures once integral to dance but long forgotten in practice.
Padma Subrahmanyam brought them back to life. Through research, fieldwork, and years of training, she restored these movements as part of Bharatanatyam’s living body. She read what sculpture revealed, followed what texts suggested, and gave it physical language again. Her work shaped how the form is studied, remembered, and performed today.
Born in 1943 in Madras (now Chennai), Padma Subrahmanyam grew up in a household where arts and scholarship thrived. Her father, K. Subrahmanyam, a filmmaker and freedom fighter, and her mother, Meenakshi, a composer fluent in Sanskrit and Tamil, created a home rich in cultural discourse. This environment shaped Padma Subrahmanyam’s early engagement with the arts.
She began her dance training under Kausalya, a young teacher at Nrityodaya, the dance school founded by her father in 1942. Later, she honed her skills under the tutelage of Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai, a stalwart in the field. Her early years were full of questions: why were there disparities between the Bharatanatyam she was taught and the dance postures depicted in temple sculptures? What had changed?
These questions led her to the Natya Shastra and the 108 karanas, the foundational units of movement described in the ancient text. She did not treat it as theory alone. She travelled to temples in Kanchipuram and Chidambaram, studying the dancing figures carved on stone walls. This curiosity propelled her into extensive research, culminating in a Ph.D. focused on these karanas which she later reintroduced into performance. She termed this integrated approach “Bharata Nrithyam,” a style that encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of dance.
Padma Subrahmanyam’s choreography reintroduced an older vocabulary of movement that predates the standardized margam format prevalent in Bharatanatyam. She brought in something older, even unfamiliar. Her choreography blended tradition with reconstruction, and her performances carried both scholarship and emotion. She also worked with artists and scholars outside India. In Indonesia, she explored shared roots between Indian and Southeast Asian performing arts. In Japan, a documentary captured her work. In Russia, she was awarded a medal for her contributions to cultural exchange.
Unlike the abhinaya-heavy style typical of the Kalakshetra school, Padma Subrahmanyam’s stage presence is known for its architectural quality, placing the physicality of the movement above overt emotional expression. Her movements are often described as “dense,” or “temple-like.” She mentioned in a 1998 interview: “I don’t act. I sculpt.”
“My aim is to communicate with the last man in the audience. Art minus communication is meaningless. The term 'abhinaya' is not just facial expressions. It means drawing the spectator to an idea.”
Padma Subrahmanyam’s work reshapes how dancers and scholars understand Bharatanatyam’s roots. Her research revives foundational movements that deepen the practice’s connection to ancient texts and temple art. Her performances continue to engage audiences worldwide with expressive power. She has been honoured with India’s highest civilian awards: the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan, in recognition of her enduring contributions to Indian arts and cultural heritage.
Her teaching and choreographic work inspire generations of artists to explore Bharatanatyam with rigor and creativity. The heritage she fosters lives not only in India but across borders, reflecting a tradition that moves forward while honouring its origins.
Recommendations for Further Exploration
To Read
History of Bharatnatyam
Bharatnatyam – 1 by Malathi Iyengar