Dr Padma Subrahmanyam received her training in Bharatanatyam under the tutelage of Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai and Mylapore Gouri Amma. She learnt Carnatic music from B.V. Lakshmanan. An exponent of Bharatanatyam, Dr Padma Subrahmanyam has presented her art across the world, participating in prestigious national and international festivals of dance. She has also received critical acclaim for her choreographies and dance-dramas. She brings to her discipline the insights gained from her research in the field of performing arts, studying Karana sculptures in the temples of Tamil Nadu under the guidance of Dr T. N. Ramachandran. She has received a Ph.D. from the Annamalai University for her thesis on Karanas in Indian Dance and Sculpture, and has authored several books on dance and treatises such as the Natyashastra. She is unique among dancers today for having incorporated outputs from her research in her dance compositions, thus crafting a distinct style in Bharatanatyam. She is currently President of Nrithyodaya, a leading organization of the arts founded by her father K. Subrahmanyam, and founder of Bharatamuni Ilango Foundation for Asian Culture located near Chennai. Dr Padma Subrahmanyam has won numerous accolades including the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan (2003), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1983), the Kalaimamani, and the Kalidas Samman. Dr Padma Subrahmanyam has also been elected Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi for her contribution to Indian dance.

Abstract of the lectures: 

Mārga: The unacknowledged substratum of performing arts and Deśis imbedded in Mārga

Both the lectures deal with Bharata Muni’s  Nāṭyaśāstra, the earliest extant literature in the world on dramaturgy. A study of this text has revealed the common Indian grammar of performing arts and literature which came to be referred to as  mārga in the post-Nāṭyaśāstra period. Deśis are regional forms which developed based on regional taste; many of the regional dances came to be recognized in post-Independence India. Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam recreated the mārga in dance, showing its interrelation with deśis.