The Female Legacy Project: Celebrating Tamil Nadu’s unheard heroines of dance, puppetry, and theatre

What if the rhythms of Bharatanatyam, the haunting shadows of puppetry, and the raw emotion of Tamil theatre weren’t just performances but echoes of women whose voices history forgot to amplify? This is the question The Female Legacy Project dares to answer, an exhibition shining a spotlight on three extraordinary women whose artistry has woven itself into the fabric of Tamil Nadu’s heritage: Narthaki Nataraj, the Bharatanatyam legend whose dance speaks louder than words; Seethalakshmi, the shadow puppetry master whose puppets carry stories that transcend time; and Usha Rani, the Tamil theatre icon who learned not from books, but from life itself, memorising lines through observation and instinct.

The Female Legacy Project puts the spotlight on three extraordinary women

Usha Rani’s story hits you with quiet power: “I cannot read or write, so I learned everything through observation—watching the group rehearse, their actions, their rendition of dialogues and songs. I memorized my lines by singing them.” At this, you realise that art isn’t always taught in classrooms; sometimes, it’s learned in the spaces where passion lives.

Seethalakshmi’s journey is equally mesmerising: “As a child, the place where I learned dance also conducted classes for shadow puppetry. I became curious, and my guru, Acharya Ramanamurthy, offered to teach me for free. That’s how my journey into puppetry began. Today, I don’t dance on stage, but my puppets do!” As she speaks, you’re transported into the world of flickering shadows, where every puppet holds a secret, every movement tells a story, and every performance is an act of rebellion against being forgotten.

At the heart of this project is a fearless team of young women — writer Saritha Rao, illustrator Sahitya Rani, photographer Bhuvana Sekar, and videographer Habiba Begum — mentored by the visionary A Mangai, who spent six months unraveling the threads of these artists’ lives, capturing not just their achievements but their struggles, their dreams, and the spaces in between that rarely make it into the history books.

Katharina Görgen, the project’s driving force, shares the spark that ignited it: “The idea came from a conversation about biographies. It was pointed out that there are fewer biographies of women—not because they haven’t contributed, but because their work is less documented. Fewer newspaper articles, less recognition. This gap means their stories are harder to research, harder to tell. That’s why we wanted to spotlight this issue and celebrate incredible women in the arts.” The Female Legacy Project isn’t just an exhibition; it’s an act of reclamation, a movement to rewrite the narrative, to ensure these women’s legacies are etched into the story of art history.

The exhibition isn’t just about looking at artifacts; it’s about feeling them. It’s about performances and workshops like Koothu makeup, puppetry making, and songwriting, where you don’t just observe art—you become part of it. There are guided tours that peel back the layers of these artists’ lives, revealing the passion behind the craft, and on weekends, you can immerse yourself in a Bharatanatyam guided tour—a rare glimpse into the dance’s sacred language, offering an experience that’s as transformative as it is enlightening.

Narthaki Nataraj’s words linger long after you hear them: “I went in search of Sri Kittappa Pillai. The only thing I knew was that he was Vyjayanthimala’s guru. For over a decade, I learned from my guru. I saw in my vision a whole constellation of dancers. I wanted to be one of them—and now, I am.” Her journey isn’t just about dance; it’s about finding your constellation in the vast sky of history, claiming your place among the stars.

The Female Legacy Project is a reclamation of stories, a celebration of resilience, a tribute to the women who dared to create, to perform, to dream—and to be remembered. It is presented by Goethe-Institut in association with the Shreya Nagarajan Singh Arts Development Consultancy, Kala Collective in collaboration with Alliance Française of Madras.

Open to all.

April 4 to13, 10 am to 7 pm.

At Alliance Française of Madras, Nungambakkam.

Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com

X: @rupsjain