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{{Short description|Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Meenakshi Chitharanjan
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| alma_mater = [[Ethiraj College for Women]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername =
| occupation = Classical dancer
| yearsactive =
| known for = [[Bharatnatyam]]
| spouse = Arun Chitharanjan
| domesticpartner =
| children =
| parents = Sabanagayam<br />Savithri
| website = {{Url|http://www.meenakshichitharanjan.com/|Website}}
| awards = [[Padma Shri]]<br />[[Kalaimamani|Kalaimamani Award]]<br />[[Natya Kala Sarathi]]<br />[[Nritya Choodamani]]
}}
'''Meenakshi Chitharanjan''', an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, is known as an exponent of the [[Pandanallur style]] of the classical dance form of [[Bharatanatyam]].<ref name="Profile: Meenakshi Chitharanjan">{{cite web | url=http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=5567 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116161804/http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=5567 | url-status=usurped | archive-date=16 November 2012 | title=Profile: Meenakshi Chitharanjan | publisher=Lokvani | date=17 March 2009 | access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> She is the founder of ''Kaladiksha'', an institution promoting Bharatanatyam and striving to preserve the [[Pandanallur style|Pandanallur tradition]]. A disciple of the father-son duo of Chokkalingam Pillai and Subbaraya Pillai,<ref name="The king was captivated and…">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/the-king-was-captivated-and/article6549572.ece | title=The king was captivated and… | work=The Hindu | date=31 October 2014 | access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> she is a recipient of several honours including [[Kalaimamani]] Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the ''Natya Kala Sarathi'' of ''Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha''.<ref name="Life’s dancing lessons">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/lifes-dancing-lessons/article5684655.ece | title=Life's dancing lessons | work=The Hindu | date=13 February 2014 | access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the [[Padma Shri]], in 2008, for her contributions to classical dance.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2016 |access-date=3 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>

== Biography ==
Meenakshi Chitharanjan was born in [[Chennai]], in the south Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]] to [[P. Sabanayagam]], a government official, as the youngest and only girl child among his five children.<ref name="Life’s dancing lessons" /> 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 her ''arangetram'' (debut) in 1966 at the age of nine.<ref name="Profile: Meenakshi Chitharanjan" /> 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 at [[Ethiraj College for Women]] and married Arun Chitharanjan, an orthodontist and the grandson of [[M. Bhaktavatsalam]], the then chief minister of [[Tamil Nadu]], after which her dance career halted for a while.<ref name="Life’s dancing lessons" />

She returned to dancing after a chance meeting with Srinivasa Pillai, a percussionist who had played [[mridangam]] as an accompaniment to her in her younger days.<ref name="Life’s dancing lessons" /> She also trained ''abhinaya'' under [[Kalanidhi Narayanan]], a [[Padma Bhushan]] awardee, and has been performing on stage since then.<ref name="Memorable Guru Samarpan">{{cite web | url=http://www.narthaki.com/info/rev14/rev1687.html | title=Memorable Guru Samarpan | publisher=Narthaki | date=16 November 2014 | access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Moves and music">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/meenakshi-chitharanjans-bharatanatyam-performance-seemed-to-be-inspired-by-the-excellent-music/article8134808.ece | title=Moves and music | work=The Hindu | date=21 January 2016 | access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> Srinivasa Pillai, S. Pandian and [[Padma Subrahmanyam]] have also trained her at various points of time.<ref name="Title conferred on Meenakshi Chitharanjan" /> In 1991, she started ''Kaladiksha'', a dance school for teaching [[Bharatanatyam]] which has since grown to hold around 100 students at a time and is known to be striving to preserve the [[Pandanallur style|Pandanallur bani]].<ref name="Profile: Meenakshi Chitharanjan" /> She has tutored many aspiring dancers and [[Aishwarya R. Dhanush]], the wife of [[Dhanush]], the eldest daughter of [[Rajnikanth]] and a [[Kalaimamani]] awardee, is one of her disciples.<ref name="KALAIMAMANI 2009 ANNOUNCED">{{cite web | url=https://sangeethas.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/kalaimamani-2009-2009-announced/ | title=KALAIMAMANI 2009 ANNOUNCED | publisher=Sangeethas | date=2009 | access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> She received the title ''Natya Choodamani'' of Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and, [[Kalaimamani]] Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1975.<ref name="Appreciated for taking Pandanallur style of dancing to Great Heights">{{cite web | url=http://chennaiplus.net/?p=10471 | title=Appreciated for taking Pandanallur style of dancing to Great Heights | publisher=Chennai Plus | date=1 February 2014 | access-date=29 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205085913/http://chennaiplus.net/?p=10471 | archive-date=5 February 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the [[Padma Shri]] in 2008 and ''Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha'' honoured her with the title of ''Natya Kala Sarathi'' in 2014.<ref name="Title conferred on Meenakshi Chitharanjan">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/title-conferred-on-meenakshi-chitharanjan/article5598219.ece | title=Title conferred on Meenakshi Chitharanjan | work=The Hindu | date=21 January 2014 | access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> She is also a recipient of Awards of Excellence from Rotary Club, Chenna and Probus Club, Chennai, and Best Dancer Award (2004) from [[Madras Music Academy]]. She holds the highest artist grade at the [[Doordarshan]].<ref name="Appreciated for taking Pandanallur style of dancing to Great Heights" />

== See also ==
* [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]]
* [[Pandanallur style]]
{{Portal|India}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weCjEUSCOdU | title=Bharatanatyam Pushpanjali | publisher=Julia Pop | work=[[YouTube]] video | date=21 October 2014 | access-date=29 January 2016}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitharanjan, Meenakshi}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Artists from Chennai]]
[[Category:Indian women choreographers]]
[[Category:Indian classical choreographers]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:Bharatanatyam dancers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Dancers from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Women artists from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]

Meenakshi Chitharanjan - Revision history

Ambaputra at 04:16, 12 January 2026