Padmashri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee Guru Geeta Chandran, Founder-President of NATYA VRIKSHA, will present the Arangetram of her disciple Vidhi Bansal at 6 p.m. on Saturday, 18 July 2026, at the Chinmaya Mission Auditorium, 89 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi. The evening marks Vidhi’s formal debut after eleven years of rigorous training under Guru Geeta Chandran. The programme will be graced by Chief Guests Shri Satish Upadhyay, MLA, and Smt. Aarti Upadhyay, while Monica Sagar, Director, Shiv Nadar Schools, will attend as the Guest of Honour.
The Arangetram will be presented to a live orchestra led by Guru Geeta Chandran on Nattuvangam, with Vidwan Sreeraag Nair (Vocal), Vidwan Vignesh Jayaraman (Mridangam), Vidwan Varun Rajasekharan (Ghatam) and Vidwan V.S.K. Annadorai (Violin). The recital will follow the traditional Bharatanatyam margam, featuring Pushpanjali, Alarippu, Jatiswaram (Ragamalika), Varnam in Nattaikuranji Ragam, the Surdas Padam Sundar Shyam, Tillana in Ragam Brindavani and Mangalam, reflecting the depth and discipline of Vidhi’s training under her Guru.
An Arangetram is not merely a first public performance. It is the culmination of years of disciplined learning, artistic refinement and spiritual growth under the guidance of a Guru. Vidhi’s debut assumes special significance as it emerges from the distinctive gurukul pedagogy of NATYA VRIKSHA, where every student is nurtured through personalised training, classes conducted to live music, and an immersive learning environment rooted in the Indian Knowledge System. At a time when standardised instruction has become increasingly common, NATYA VRIKSHA continues to uphold a teaching philosophy that recognises the individuality of every disciple while preserving the integrity of Bharatanatyam’s classical tradition.
For over five decades, Guru Geeta Chandran has been one of India’s leading Bharatanatyam exponents, known as a performer, teacher, choreographer and scholar. Through NATYA VRIKSHA, founded in 1991, she has mentored generations of dancers and advanced classical arts through education and performance. Her honours include the Padmashri, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the Tagore National Fellowship and the Nritya Chudamani. Fifty years after her own Arangetram, she continues to shape Bharatanatyam’s place in contemporary culture while remaining rooted in tradition.
“An Arangetram is not the end of training but the beginning of an artist’s lifelong sadhana. It signifies a disciple’s readiness to carry forward an unbroken tradition with humility, discipline and responsibility. At NATYA VRIKSHA, every Arangetram reflects years of trust, shared learning and the Guru-Shishya bond that lies at the heart of Indian classical arts. Vidhi has grown beautifully through this journey, and I am delighted to present her to rasikas as she embarks on the next chapter of her artistic life,” says Guru Geeta Chandran.
Within the Indian classical arts tradition, an Arangetram occupies a uniquely significant place. It represents the moment when years of dedicated training receive public acknowledgement and a young dancer formally enters the world of performance. Beyond technical accomplishment, it symbolises discipline, perseverance, artistic maturity and an understanding of the deeper values embedded within Bharatanatyam. Every successful Vidhi Bansal’s presentation reflects this enduring legacy. Having trained under Guru Geeta Chandran since childhood, she has evolved through sustained practice, performance experience and a deep engagement with the classical form. As she prepares to begin her undergraduate studies at FLAME University, Pune, this Arangetram marks the culmination of one phase of learning while opening the door to a lifelong artistic journey.
