The transgender Bharatanatyam Padma Shri awardee dancer

Nartaki Natraj is the first transgender person to receive Padma Shri award for Bharatanatyam. Originally from Madurai, Nartaki Natraj specializes in Nayaki Bhava of the traditional dance form of Tanjavur. She trained under veteran dancer K P Kittappa Pillai.

Nartaki Natraj founded a dance school where she teaches Bharatanatyam. Narthaki left home at a very young age and she soon became a symbol of trangender empowerment in Tamil Nadu. Narthaki followed her passion to become a dancer with the support of her friend Shakti.

Narthaki has been a recipient of the Kalaimamani award, the highest honour of the Tamil Nadu government and the Nritya Choodamani of the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in 2009. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar (2011) and the Vetri Award of the University of Madras for performers from marginalised communities in society (2013) are among her other distinctions.

She has a rare collection of Tamil literature, which she uses for research in her solo and group productions. Some of her dance productions are ‘Tamizh Amudhu’, ‘Siva Darisanam’, ‘Shakthi Darisanam’, ‘Kumara Vijayam’, ‘AranganVaibhavam’, ‘SwatantraVriksha’ on contemporary issues.

The Padma Shri award is one of the highest civilian awards in India. They are announced before Republic Day every year to honour people in disciplines like art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service. The awards are conferred by the President of India at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan in March or April every year. Nartaki Natraj won the Padma Shri awardee in 2019, making her the first transgender woman to be awarded the Padma Shri.