Geeta Chandran Honoured With Natya Vriksha's Presentation, 'A To Z+ Of Geeta Chandran'

Renowned Bharatnatyam exponent (Padmashri) Geeta Chandran was bestowed with love and reverence by her students in the form of A to Z+ of Geeta Chandran - a volume published by NatyaVriksha on January 15th, 2023.

The book is an embodiment of everything Geeta stands for; her zeal for Bharatanatyam, her endeavour to take it to newer heights, her journey as a learner, performer, teacher and an evangelist and how she envisions her beloved art form on the world map.

This beautifully published tribute volume has taken over 18 months for her students to collectively put together elements from the dancer's diverse and enriching life. The articles in the book are both an analysis of the unique pedagogical processes that Geeta Chandran employs at NatyaVriksha and also the impact that Natya Vriksha has had on students (both past and present), parents and others.

As her creative partner and husband Rajiv Chandran writes in his introduction to the volume: "Anyone who has ever met Geeta, will instantly recognize the ample truth when I describe her as: 'Natyam RupenaSamsthita', because the classical dance that she has entirely devoted fifty-five years of her life to, consumes her entirely. She is the dance, and the dance is her. No dichotomy there! Very little exists for her outside Bharatanatyam. It defines her physicality, her emotion-scape, her imagination, and influences the very core of her innermost being."

Overwhelmed to the core with the gesture, Geeta Chandran says, "I have no words to describe how wholesome it is to receive this kind of love from the people around you. The writers of this fascinating book may be my students, but I too have learnt a lot from them in my journey as an artist and teacher. Bharatanatyam is my entire existence, and I am truly gratified to see,through this volume, that that spark is equally enshrined in my disciples. For a teacher, there can be no greater joy and thrill than that."

Geeta's senior student, Dr. Sneha Chakradhar writes: "In the recent years, her focus has been to work on developing a pedagogy for dance to help teachers engage with their students in more meaningful ways. I have personally learned immensely from her in arts education. Rarely do we come across artists who are so diversified, yet completely centred. She thrives in improvising and going with the flow, at the same time she is extremely meticulous and scholarly. She defies labels and enjoys the play between conformity and creativity when she innovates. She lets her work speak for itself and refuses to be compartmentalised. Her unquenchable thirst to create has taken dance in new directions. Geeta Chandran's Bharatanatyam is truly borderless and beyond!"

Disciple Madhura Bhrushundi says: "Dance is a fraction of the learning that is imparted under Geeta's guidance. I think the sensitivity to observe and appreciate beauty around all of us is something that each student at NatyaVriksha intrinsically starts imbibing. Thanks to Geeta Akka flowers seem to bloom brighter, smell fresher, trees seem greener, and they seem to sway and dance a little more! Developing that keen eye for aesthetics is something that is built into the pedagogy at NatyaVriksha."

The volume of text is enriched by wonderful photographs that capture the closeness shared between Guru Geeta Chandran and her disciples spread all over the world. Many of the tributes are in the form of paintings, drawings, and poems. The book has been aesthetically designed and printed by NIYOGI BOOKS, known for their high-quality arts books publishing.