Who became the first trans woman to win a Padma Shri for Bharatanatyam?

Explanation

Narthaki Nataraj, a Bharatanatyam dancer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, received the Padma Shri in 2019. She was the first trans woman to receive the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour.

Narthaki Nataraj was born in 1964 in a village near Madurai. As a young person, she faced rejection from her family and society because of her gender identity, and she left home with her friend Shakti Bhaskar. Determined to learn Bharatanatyam, she approached the great guru K.P. Kittappa Pillai of Thanjavur, a descendant of the Tanjore Quartet, who accepted her as a student. She trained under him for many years in the traditional Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam, especially the nayaki bhava, the expression of the heroine's love for the divine. She became known for her graceful dance, her deep understanding of Tamil literature and devotional poetry, and her powerful abhinaya. She founded the Velliyambalam School of Dance in Chennai. She was the first transgender person to receive a passport with her chosen gender identity in India and the first to receive a scholarship from the Government of India for dance. She has performed widely in India and abroad and has become an inspiration for the transgender community. Her life and work are included in school textbooks in Tamil Nadu.

Another transgender artist who has received the Padma Shri is Manjamma Jogati, a performer of the Jogati Nritya folk dance of Karnataka, who received it in 2021.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Manjamma Jogati was the first transgender folk dancer to receive the Padma Shri, in 2021.
• ✗Alarmel Valli is a famous Bharatanatyam dancer who received the Padma Shri in 1991 and the Padma Bhushan in 2004.
• ✗Sudha Chandran is a Bharatanatyam dancer and actress, famous for dancing with an artificial leg.