Narthaki Nataraj is an Indian

transwoman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

dancer. In 2019, she was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, making her the first transgender woman to be awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award.

Early life

Narthaki Nataraj was born in

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

, Tamil Nadu. In an interview, she said she became aware of her feminine side at the age of 10 and found dance to be the only way of expressing herself. Owing to societal pressures and stigma, she ran away from her home at the age of 12. She started her training in dance under Namanur Jeyaraman of the Tanjavur bani. She later became a disciple of

K. P. Kittappa Pillai K. P. Kittappa Pillai (5 May 1913 – 1999) was the son of Sangita Kalanidhi K. Ponniah Pillai (1888-1945), a scion of the famous Tanjore Quartet, codifiers of the Bharatanatyam format. Personal life Kittappa Pillai and his brothers were born ...

in 1984, who was a direct descendant of the

Thanjavur Quartet ''Thanjavur Quartet'' were four brothers, Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu, who lived during the early 19th century and contributed to the development of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music. They excelled in the art of Bharatanatyam.Th ...

Career

Narthaki Nataraj took the name "Narthaki" during her debut performance as a woman in 1983. She worked as a demonstration assistant to Kittappa Pillai in Tanjore

Tamil University The Tamil University is a public state university located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It was established to provide higher research in the Tamil language. Location The university is situated in a campus of about , granted by the ...

. She established a dance school Narthaki Nritya Kalalaya in Madurai to take her

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

's vision forward. In 2000, she moved to Chennai and has been a full time professional dancer since then. She specialises in the Tanjore-based Nayaki Bhava tradition. She established a dance school Velliambalam Nadana Kalai Koodam in Chennai and Madurai, with her friend Shakti Bhaskar, where she trains her students in the traditional repertoire of Thanjavur Quartets. The school has branches in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada.'''' She along with her friend, Shakti, has been conducting annual workshops at the government department of music in Oslo. They teach Indian and Norwegian students the ''Tevaram'', ''Tiruppugazh'' and ''Tiruvachakam.'' Her life and journey has been included as a lesson in the 11th standard Tamil text book by the Tamil Nadu government in 2018. In 2019, she was awarded the

, making her the first transgender woman to be awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award.

Social reforms

Narthaki Nataraj was stopped at many airports as her passport denoted the alphabet "U" for her gender. In 2002, she took part in one of the earliest campaigns for the rights of transgender people. She pursued

Union Home Ministry The Ministry of Home Affairs (IAST: ''Gṛha Maṃtrālaya''), or simply the Home Ministry, is a ministry of the Government of India. As an interior ministry of India, it is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and dome ...

to change the alphabet "U", representing

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

s for transgender people in India to alphabet "F", representing female. She also took part in the fight to replace the derogatory Tamil word ''aravani'' with ''thirunangai'', meaning "supreme woman" in the official circulars of the Tamil Nadu government. In November 2019, the government has changed the denomination to use the old word of ''moondram paalinathavar''.

Awards

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

Award of Tamil Nadu Government in 2007 *Nritya Choodamani Award from Krishna Gana Sabha in 2009 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

in 2011 *Vetri Award from

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...

in 2013 * Honorary Doctorate from

Periyar Maniammai University Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science & Technology (PMIST), formerly Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for Women and Periyar Maniammai University (PMU), is a private deemed-to-be-university headquarters is in the town of Vallam in Than ...

2016 *

ICCR The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 Apri ...

Empanelled Dance Artist in Outstanding Category 2017 *Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nataraj, Narthaki Living people People from Madurai Bharatanatyam exponents Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Indian female dancers Transgender women Indian transgender people Indian LGBT entertainers Transgender dancers 1964 births Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award