P. R. Thilagam (born 1926), popularly known as Thiruvarur Thilagam, is an Indian composer, vocalist and exponent of Kuravanji, a traditional form of dance drama popular in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[1][2] She hails from Kondi parampara (Kondi heritage) of the Isai Vellalar community, a sect of women dedicated to the worship at Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur.[3][4]
Thilagam was born in 1926 at Thiruvarur, a town in Tamil Nadu famous for the Thyagaraja Temple, as one of the last among the Kondi Devadasis, in a family of dancers.[5] Learning Kuravanji from her grandmother, Kamalambal, who was a notable performer of the dance drama,[6] she started public performances and has performed on many stages in India and abroad.[7] She is a recipient of the 1997 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.[8][9] The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for her contributions to Arts.[10] Her performance has been video-documented by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)[6] while her life story is the main feature of a journal, Madras Season: Its Genesis, published by Sruti, a magazine dedicated for performing arts.[11]
