A nine-day exhibition was recently held in honour of Bharatanatyam exponent Chitra Visweswaran, marking her 75th year. Organised in collaboration with the Alliance Française of Chennai, the event traced her illustrious artistic journey spanning over seven decades, showcasing her multifaceted contributions as a performer, choreographer and teacher.
The exhibition titled ‘What anchored me, Let Me Fly’, curated by Bhooma Padmanabhan, featured a collection of rare black-and-white and colour photographs documenting the senior dancer’s life from 1950 to 2025. These captured moments from her childhood and with her family, her training under Thiruvidaimarudur A. Rajalakshmi and Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai, and her many international performances. Also on display were her costumes, jewellery, awards and musical instruments such as the santoor, tambura, and guitar played by her late husband, R. Visweswaran. Adding a visual and emotional dimension, continuous screenings of video excerpts from her landmark productions, including the celebrated Viralimalai Kuravanji, performed with Padma Subrahmanyam and Sudharani Raghupathy, offered visitors a glimpse into her creative universe.
The exhibition was curated by Bhooma Padmanabhan
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Special Arrangement
Though trained in both the Thanjavur and Vazhuvoor traditions, Chitra Visweswaran went on to develop her own distinctive style, today referred to as Vichitra Bani which was unveiled at the exhibition. The bani recognises the immense capacity of dance as a medium of communication — physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Through decades of performance and teaching, she has guided generations of dancers who continue to carry forward her aesthetic ideals and artistic philosophy. Her work reminds us that Bharatanatyam, while grounded in tradition, is also a living language of thought and feeling.
Over the nine days, six evenings featured special programmes, including an illustrated talk 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) presented individual offerings and Chitra Visweswaran shared personal anecdotes and memories during a conversation with Shreya Nagarajan Singh, and Sukanya Ravindhar. Sachchidanand Joshi, member-secretary of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Delhi attended the event.
The exhibition brought alive memories 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 series with a moving performance to one of Chitra Visweswaran’s favourite Bengali songs.
The event was conceptualised and organised by Sukanya Ravindhar and supported by SNS Arts Development Consultancy.
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