Komala Varadan is an Indian classical dancer of Bharatnatyam, writer[1] and the founder of Kalaikoodam, a Delhi-based institute for promoting arts, literature and culture.
Her paintings have been exhibited at many galleries including the Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC), New Delhi and the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.
[3] Varadan is a recipient of the Kalaimamani Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu, Rajyotsava Prashasthi of the Government of Karnataka, Natya Rani title, International Woman of the Year Award (1998 -1999) of the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman and the Full Circle Inner Flame Award (1999).
[4][5] The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for her contributions to Indian classical dance.
[6] Three years earlier, Varadan was in the news for a civil suit filed by her against the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), for categorising performing artists over the age of 45 as lecture-demonstration presenters.