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{{short description|Indian classical dancer}}
{{Indian patronymic|Tara|Rajkumar}}
{{BLP sources|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tara Rajkumar
| birth_name =
| alias =
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = 1948
| birth_place = [[Kozhikode]], [[Kerala]], India
| parents = TMB Nedungadi
| spouse = Raj Rajkumar
| children =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Dancer, choreographer, Dance teacher
| known for = [[Kathakali]], [[Mohiniyattam]]
| awards = Medal of the [[Order of Australia]]<br/>[[Victorian Honour Roll of Women]]
}}
'''Tara Rajkumar''' is an [[Indian classical dancer]] and dance teacher. She is an exponent in Indian classical dances like [[Kathakali]] and [[Mohiniyattam]]. In 2009, she was awarded the [[Medal of the Order of Australia]]. She also received many other awards including [[Victorian Honour Roll of Women]] and Victorian Volunteer Award.

==Biography==
Tara was born in [[Kozhikode]], [[Kerala]] as the daughter of T. M. B. Nedungadi, former chairman of [[Kerala Kalamandalam]].<ref name="Hindu">{{cite news |title=Torchbearer of tradition |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/Torchbearer-of-tradition/article14932704.ece |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=3 March 2011 |language=en |access-date=17 April 2023 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417082112/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/Torchbearer-of-tradition/article14932704.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> Tara is the great grand-niece of [[Appu Nedungadi]], the author of ''Kundalata'', the first novel in Malayalam.<ref name="Hindu"/> Attracted to Indian classical dances from a young age, she started learning [[Kathakali]] at the age of four.<ref name="Hindu"/> She lived in many places in India during her youth.<ref>{{cite news |title=10 Indian Origin Women Making a Difference in Australia - The Australia Today |url=https://www.theaustraliatoday.com.au/10-indian-origin-women-making-a-difference-in-australia/ |language=en-AU |access-date=2023-04-17 |archive-date=2022-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123043935/https://www.theaustraliatoday.com.au/10-indian-origin-women-making-a-difference-in-australia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although she started learning Kathakali in Bombay, when she was too young, her serious training was from Moleri Namboothiri in Kochi.<ref name="narthaki2"/> While in Delhi, she studied Kathakali under Guru Punnathoor Madhava Panicker, at the International Centre for Kathakali (ICK).<ref name="narthaki2"/> A disciple of three legends [[Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair]], [[Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma|Kalyanikutty Amma]] and [[Mani Madhava Chakyar]], Tara started performing classical dance while still in school.<ref name="Hindu"/> While in Delhi, she also received training in [[Odissi]] from Guru [[Surendra Nath Jena]].<ref name="narthaki2"/>

After her marriage with Dr. Rajkumar, a scientist, they first went to UK and then to Australia.<ref name="Hindu"/> They live in [[Melbourne]] now.<ref name="Hindu"/>

== Career==
In her career, she has performed or taught Indian classical dance in India, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.<ref name="OAM">{{cite web |title=Tara Rajkumar OAM {{!}} Victorian Government |url=https://www.vic.gov.au/tara-rajkumar-oam |website=www.vic.gov.au |language=en |access-date=2023-04-17 |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417082114/https://www.vic.gov.au/tara-rajkumar-oam |url-status=live }}</ref> She has also performed in famous theatres like London's [[Southbank Centre|South Bank]], Sydney's [[Opera House, Sydney|Opera House]] and Melbourne's [[Arts Centre Melbourne|Victorian Arts Centre]].

While in England, she founded Akademi (then called the Academy of Indian Dance), a classical dance center in England which runs to this day (as of 2023).<ref name="narthaki">{{cite web |title=Profiles - From Slum Dog Millionaire to 'Temple Dreaming' - Sumi Krishnan |url=https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/profl101.html |website=narthaki.com |access-date=2023-04-17 |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417083005/https://narthaki.com/info/profiles/profl101.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Forty Years On-In Conversation with Tara Rajkumar OAM {{!}} Pulse Connects |url=http://www.pulseconnects.com/forty-years-conversation-tara-rajkumar-oam |website=www.pulseconnects.com |access-date=2023-04-17 |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417090123/http://www.pulseconnects.com/forty-years-conversation-tara-rajkumar-oam |url-status=live }}</ref> It was with seed funding from the British government, she set up the National Academy of Indian Dance which later renamed as the South Asian Dance Academy, in London, in 1979.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sun |first=The Indian |date=2014-09-09 |title='For art to flourish, think in terms of the country you live in' - |url=https://www.theindiansun.com.au/2014/09/09/art-flourish-think-terms-country-live/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427140350/https://www.theindiansun.com.au/2014/09/09/art-flourish-think-terms-country-live/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Tara Rajkumar immigrated to Australia in 1983 and established Natya Sudha School and Natya Sudha Dance Company in Melbourne to teach Indian classical dance.<ref name="OAM"/> She is widely recognised as a key person in popularizing Indian classical arts such as Mohiniyattam and Kathakali in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-26 |title=Indian-Australian community celebrates Tara Rajkumar's 40 years of dance legacy {{!}} The Australia Today |url=https://www.theaustraliatoday.com.au/indian-australian-community-celebrates-tara-rajkumars-40-years-of-dance-legacy/ |access-date=2025-01-06 |language=en-AU}}</ref> Her productions have toured Australia, United Kingdom, India, New Zealand and Thailand. With support from Commission for the Future, AsiaLink and Multicultural Arts Victoria, she developed a unique cross-cultural project, Traditions in Transition, which culminated in a season of performances at CUB Malthouse.<ref name="OAM"/> She was the artistic director of a project that brought together classical and contemporary dance from Japan, China and India, highlighting the contributions of Australian resident artists to the Australian national cultural fabric.<ref name="OAM"/>

While in Australia, she received a fellowship from [[Monash University]] and later became Director of Performing Arts at the Monash Asia Institute.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rajkumar, Tara, active 1986-2009 |url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/32483091 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=natlib.govt.nz |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417110408/https://natlib.govt.nz/records/32483091 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Tara was the artistic director and principal dancer of the Indian dance component of the Australian Festival of Japan to Venice program held at the Victorian Arts Centre.<ref name="OAM"/> She developed a course, New Dance Forms and Old Cultures, for undergraduate students at Monash University, the first of its kind in Australia.<ref name="OAM"/> Through such programs she made classical South Asian dance accessible to the society at large.<ref name="OAM"/>

Tara's work has been exhibited at the [[Immigration Museum, Melbourne|Immigration Museum]] in Melbourne in recognition of her contribution to society as an immigrant to Australia.<ref name="OAM"/> She is known as a dancer, choreographer, art director, teacher, researcher and communicator. A documentary on her, ''Tara the Singing Anklet'' by Vinod Mankara, premiered at the [[Indian Film Festival of Melbourne]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krishnan |first=Sumathi |date=2024-10-18 |title=Tara Rajkumar OAM: Grace in motion for 50 glorious years |url=https://www.indianlink.com.au/tara-rajkumar-oam/ |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=Indian Link |language=en-AU}}</ref>

==Notable performances==
Her work titled ''Temple Dreaming'', based on the life of [[Louise Lightfoot]] and her passion for Kathakali, was first performed at the Alexander Theatre at [[Monash University]], Australia and later in many venues in both India and Australia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarwal |first=Amit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dna7DwAAQBAJ&dq=Tara+Rajkumar+Dancer&pg=PT142 |title=The Dancing God: Staging Hindu Dance in Australia |date=2019-11-01 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-76199-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Hindu"/> Tara was the first performer to perform the role [[Mary Magdalene]] in Kathakali.<ref name=":0" />

==Awards and honors==
In 2009, she was awarded the [[Medal of the Order of Australia]].<ref name="Hindu"/> She is also included in the inaugural [[Victorian Honour Roll of Women]] for her contribution to Victoria and the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tara Rajkumar |url=https://2016.mpavilion.org/collaborator/tara-rajkumar/ |website=MPavilion |access-date=2023-04-17 |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417092056/https://2016.mpavilion.org/collaborator/tara-rajkumar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She also received many other awards including Victorian Volunteer Award in 2006 by Victorian Government and Ethnic Arts Award.<ref name="narthaki2">{{cite web |title=The Sunil Kothari Column - Australian Diary: Part 1 - Interview with Kathakali and Mohiniattam dancer Tara Rajkumar |url=https://narthaki.com/info/gtsk/gtsk7.html |website=narthaki.com |access-date=2023-04-17 |archive-date=2023-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417094901/https://narthaki.com/info/gtsk/gtsk7.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tara, Rajkumar}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:Mohiniyattam dancers]]
[[Category:Dancers from Kerala]]
[[Category:Women artists from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Indian dance teachers]]
[[Category:Indian classical choreographers]]
[[Category:Indian women choreographers]]
[[Category:People from Kozhikode]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to England]]
[[Category:1948 births]]

Tara Rajkumar - Revision history

BrianSop: New basic bio added tags