A nine-day exhibition was just lately held in honour of Bharatanatyam exponent Chitra Visweswaran, marking her seventy fifth yr. Organised in collaboration with the Alliance Française of Chennai, the occasion traced her illustrious artistic journey spanning over seven many years, showcasing her multifaceted contributions as a performer, choreographer and trainer.
The exhibition titled ‘What anchored me, Let Me Fly’, curated by Bhooma Padmanabhan, featured a set of uncommon black-and-white and color pictures documenting the senior dancer’s life from 1950 to 2025. These captured moments from her childhood and along with her household, her coaching below Thiruvidaimarudur A. Rajalakshmi and Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai, and her many worldwide performances. Also on show have been her costumes, jewelry, awards and musical devices such because the santoor, tambura, and guitar performed by her late husband, R. Visweswaran. Adding a visible and emotional dimension, steady screenings of video excerpts from her landmark productions, together with the celebrated Viralimalai Kuravanji, carried out with Padma Subrahmanyam and Sudharani Raghupathy, supplied guests a glimpse into her artistic universe.
The exhibition was curated by Bhooma Padmanabhan
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Special Arrangement
Though educated in each the Thanjavur and Vazhuvoor traditions, Chitra Visweswaran went on to develop her personal distinctive model, at present known as Vichitra Bani which was unveiled on the exhibition. The bani recognises the immense capability of dance as a medium of communication — bodily, emotional, mental, and non secular. Through many years of efficiency and educating, she has guided generations of dancers who proceed to hold ahead her aesthetic beliefs and artistic philosophy. Her work reminds us that Bharatanatyam, whereas grounded in custom, can be a dwelling language of thought and feeling.
Over the 9 days, six evenings featured particular programmes, together with an illustrated discuss by filmmaker Sharada Ramanathan, a dance tribute by Shobana to her guru, Dancers from ABHAI (Priya Murle, Roja Kannan, Priya Dixit, Mahalakshmi Ashwin, Padmalakshmi Suresh, Binesh Mahadevan, Nithish Kumar, Iswarya and Sruthi Janaki) introduced particular person choices and Chitra Visweswaran shared private anecdotes and reminiscences throughout a dialog with Shreya Nagarajan Singh, and Sukanya Ravindhar. Sachchidanand Joshi, member-secretary of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Delhi attended the occasion.
The exhibition introduced alive reminiscences and experiences
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The finale featured performances by Anita Ratnam, Narthaki Nataraj, Sathyanarayana Raju, and MVN Murthy. Senior disciples Sukanya Ravindhar and Anusuya concluded the sequence with a transferring efficiency to certainly one of Chitra Visweswaran’s favorite Bengali songs.
The occasion was conceptualised and organised by Sukanya Ravindhar and supported by SNS Arts Development Consultancy.
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