Padmaja set her foot in the field of Indian Classical dance at the age of four and today she is known as an eminent Indian Classical Dancer who also does social work by teaching dance to underprivileged children, taking them to great heights, and giving them the power to dream.

Dr. Padmaja Suresh is the Chairperson of ‘The Atmalaya Academy of Art and Culture Trust’ based in Bangalore. She is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Silicon Andhra, California, where she offers classes for doing Master in Bharatanatyam through the virtual mode. She has been associated with the field of performing arts, Indian classical dance, especially Bharatanatyam for over thirty-five years. She is into Indian classical music as well.

Padmaja was born and brought up in Mumbai but has her original roots in Kerala. She claims that apart from Hindi and Marathi, she also has a good command over Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Sanskrit, and German languages. She did her schooling at Chembur Karnatak High School And College. She graduated in Commerce from RA Podar College of Commerce and Economics. She is also a Law graduate. She has also received a Masters and Ph.D. degree in Philosophy. Alongside, she has also done a course in Choreography. Then for some time, she taught Indian classical dance in Mumbai and after shifting to Bangalore, she established her academy there.

Padmaja shares that she strongly believes in the pure Guru-Shishya tradition and to continue it, she teaches dance not only to the rich but also to the underprivileged children and makes them move forward in this field. Besides, in order to establish this art form at the global level, it took her fifteen years to research ‘Tantra - The Science’ and ‘Natya - The Art.’

Recalling her childhood, Padmaja says that she started dancing at the age of four-and-a-half years in Mumbai and after her marriage in 1991, she shifted her base to Bangalore. She was a good student throughout. She says that art was not a new thing in her family as her father was a well-known exponent of the Kerala Art Form called ‘Chakyar Koothu.’

When asked about her role models, Padmaja says that Guru Kalyanasundaram is her biggest inspiration for helping her establish her footing in this field and reach this point today.

Describing her struggles, Padmaja says that it has been like a roller coaster ride for her as in today’s modern age it becomes very challenging for her to maintain a traditional balance while teaching Indian classical dance form. Apart from this, teaching dance to less privileged children and taking them to big platforms was not seen as the right thing to do by some people, due to which she had to face many challenges.

Regarding her achievements, Padmaja says she got opportunities to do shows and concerts, workshops, lecture demonstrations, and conferences in thirty-two nations as a cultural ambassador of the country, which she considers as her accomplishment. Recently, her school felicitated her for being among the top ten students of the school in the past fifty years which makes her proud.

Padmaja advises everyone to never take their parents for granted because there comes a time when you have to give back to them and you should not avoid them at that time. She asks everyone to live up to their duties and responsibilities.

Padmaja advises all performing artists to work on themselves as it is necessary to have self-discipline. For that, she asks them to do yoga and meditation daily. She tells them to take an early meal every day and an early bath in the evening before their performance, do puja, practice, and read a lot of material to keep their mind calm and concentrated. She also advises them to take training from traditional gurus and not to do anything innovative at their early stage in this field.