R Muthukannammal
The last living exponent of Sadir, the temple dance from which Bharatanatyam grew, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.
R. Muthukannammal is described as the only living exponent of Sadir, the temple and court dance of Tamil Nadu that was reworked into Bharatanatyam. She comes from the hereditary community of temple dancers and is one of the last women who identify themselves as a devadasi. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of art, from Tamil Nadu [1].
Dedicated to the temple
Muthukannammal was born on 26 November 1937 in Viralimalai, Pudukkottai district, and studied up to the seventh standard [2]. At seven she gave her first performance and was dedicated to the Murugan temple at Viralimalai, where she served alongside 32 dancers [2].
Singing as she dances
In Sadir the dancer sings as she dances, and she was still doing both at 84 [2]. She remembers songs and gestures in Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Hindi, Maithili and Marathi that no one else performs today [2]. She keeps the full traditional format, from alarippu and jathiswaram to varnam, padam and thillana, along with temple festival pieces such as the kummi, kolattam and the snake dance [2].
She has given more than 1,000 performances over 75 years in temples and public venues in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and taught workshops in Chennai, Coimbatore and Bangalore [2]. The scholar Davesh Soneji has written about her in Unfinished Gestures, and Films Division made a documentary on her life and art in 2019 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2022: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2022: citation for R Muthukannammal — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
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