Acclaimed artiste of Bharatanatyam and researcher Dr. Padmaja has been trained by the veteran Guru K.Kalyanasundaram and father Sri Chakyar Rajan. She holds  many degrees besides a Masters in Philosophy and doctorate from Mysore University. She has a senior fellowship from the Ministry of culture. She was honoured at Rashtrapati Bhavan by Dr Kalam for her efforts to teach lesser privileged children. Padmaja has represented the ICCR besides extensive concert tours to over 32 nations and extensively in festivals of India. Her institution Aatmalaya academy conducts regular workshops in rural India and annual festivals. Dr. Padmaja is a sought after speaker at national forums and an author whose writings focus on metaphysics and Natya.  Her dance productions include Ritu Sringara, Navadarshanam, Kali to Krishna and others. He senior disciples run their own successful centres.  She has presented at World Sanskrit conferences, Parliament of Religions, Sangeet Natak Academy, Natya kala conference to name a few. She has many publications in high impact journals. As a member of the Advait Ekta nyasa dham and the European Shivananda yoga council, her many awards include Karnataka Kalashri, Karmaveer Chakra besides titles from global organisations like Abhinaya Kalaratna, Abhinaya Saraswati and Sashwatam Kala poshaka. Assistant Professor at Aria university, USA and an examiner at other international institutions, her third book is ‘The dance of Tantra and a Satguru