Yamini Krishnamurthy passes away after prolonged illness at 83 in Delhi
Yamini Krishnamurthy passes away after prolonged illness
at 83 in Delhi
Yamini Krishnamurthy renowned classical dancer breathed her last on August 3
following a prolonged illness.
Her mortal remains was kept at her dance school, Nritya Kaustubha, in Hauz Khas in Delhi on August 4 for her students and admirers to pay their last respects.
Yamini is credited with making Bharatanatyam dance form popular in North India, as early as in the 1960s, when she chose Delhi as her base. Since not happy with this, she worked hard to take the dance form to the global stage, and like sitar maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar and won an international status.
While she trained under the great masters of the time, she added her own distinct touch to the technique sans diluting the grammar. Her stances, facial expressions, and movements were strikingly precise. She inspired generations of dancers to pursue the art form.
The December 20,1940 Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh born, her father was a Sanskrit scholar and her grandfather an Urdu poet.
She embarked into training in Bharatanatyam at a very early age at Chennai’s Kalakshetra. After mastering the basics, she learnt from eminent gurus such as Kanchipuram Ellappa Pillai, Kittappa Pillai, Dhandayuthapani Pillai, and Mylapore Gowri Ammal.
She also gained proficiency in Kuchipudi under Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastri and Chinta Krishnamurthi. A versatile artiste, she learnt Odissi from Pankaj Charan Das and Kelucharan Mohapatra.
The dancer, whose debut performance was in Chennai in 1957, always recounted the days she spent as a five-year-old in Chidambaram, and how the town, famed for the Lord of dance, Nataraja, drew her to the art.
Her first student and Bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan said, that she always felt privileged to be guided by her because she was in awe of her persona and art. Though she never lost her temper when teaching, they knew what she exactly she expected us to do and how it should be done.
Geeta Chandran, a Delhi-based Bharatanatyam dancer, said that she ruled the dance world for a long time and set the high standard as a soloist. She was the go-to dancer when it came to prestigious national and global events. Like M.S. Subbulakshmi and Ustad Bismillah Khan, she became a cultural ambassador.
Along with her scholar-father, she explored both the philosophical and spiritual aspects of the art. With her father’s guidance, she gathered amazing material to mount her artistic work on. Though her last days were spent in loneliness, she did not lose her love for dance and was always eager to know what was happening in the field. It’s a great loss to the dance fraternity, but her life will continue to serve as a valuable lesson.
As per Chennai-based Bharatanatyam dancer Priyadarsini Govind, people were often struck by her arresting presence. Her eyes did all the talking and she had an aura about her. When you meet and speak to her, you realise that she was a born artiste.
News Edit K.V.Raman
