Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi legend Yamini Krishnamurthy passed away at Apollo Hospital in New Delhi on August 3. She was 83.
“She was suffering from age-related problems and was in the ICU for the last seven months,” said Ganesh, Ms Krishnamurthy’s manager and secretary. PTI,
Yamini Krishnamurthy (1940-2024)
A file photo of dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy with shehnai player Ustad Bismillah Khan.
Yamini Krishnamurthy, who is proficient in the forms of Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam and Odissi, practised classical dance since her childhood.
Yamini Krishnamurthy grew up in Chidambaram in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu.
This dancer has received the prestigious Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awards.
Yamini learned Kachchipudi from great teachers like Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry, Pasumarthi Venu Gopal Sharma, Chinta Krishnamurthy and Vedantam Satyanarayana Sharma.
Yamini Krishnamurthy has always been fascinated by the various postures and sculptures of Nataraja on temple walls.
Yamini Krishnamurthy trained in Bharatanatyam at Kalakshetra (Madras) under Rukmini Devi Arundale.
Yamini lived in New Delhi and ran an institute called Nritya Kaustubh.
In 1957, at the age of 17, Yamini Krishnamurthy gave her first solo performance.
Yamini Krishnamurthy performing Bharatnatyam to aid poor kidney patients organised by Swar Rang.
Pandit Birju Maharaj and Yamini Krishnamurthy at a function in New Delhi on Friday.
Yamini Krishnamurthy is renowned for her graceful stage presence, sculptural posture, and expressive eyes.
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Ms Krishnamurthy’s body will be brought to her alma mater – the Yamini School of Dance in Hauz Khas – at 9 am on August 4. Details of her funeral have not been finalised yet.
Ms. Krishnamurthy has two sisters.
Yamini Krishnamurthy. , Photo courtesy: The Hindu
Born on 20 December 1940 in Madanapalle in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh to Sanskrit scholar M. Krishnamurthy, she started learning dance at the tender age of five at the Kalakshetra Dance School in Chennai under the guidance of renowned Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Devi Arundale.
Also adept in the Kuchipudi style, Ms Krishnamurthy expanded her horizons by learning Odissi from the likes of Pankaj Charan Das and Kelucharan Mohapatra.
Apart from learning various dance styles, Ms Krishnamurthy also trained in Carnatic singing and Veena.
Ms Krishnamurthy was awarded the Padma Shri in 1968 at the young age of 28, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016. She was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1977.
Speaking about her contribution to Bharatanatyam, veteran dancer and one of her first disciples, Rama Vaidyanathan, said she brought “power, beauty and charm” to the dance form.
“Bharatnatyam would not be the same without her… She was so focused and dedicated to classical dance. I am very fortunate to have been her first disciple almost 40 years ago. She added star quality to the dance form,” said Ms Vaidyanathan PTI.
He said Ms. Krishnamurthy only thought about dance, as if it was the dance inside her that troubled her.
Ms. Vaidyanathan remembered a train journey she and Ms. Krishnamurthy took in which she was astonished to find herself sitting in the dark while everyone around her was asleep and thinking about a dance composition.
“I remember once we were travelling by train. I was on the upper berth and she was on the lower berth. I woke up in the middle of the night. Everyone was sleeping and I could see her sitting in the dark composing something. She was immersed in Bharatanatyam with full passion and enthusiasm,” the 57-year-old said.
Condolence messages flooded in on X.
Former Rajya Sabha MP and Bharatanatyam dancer Sonal Mansingh said Ms Krishnamurthy was “shining like a meteor in the sky”.
In a post on the microblogging platform, Ms Mansingh said, “Received the sad news of the demise of India’s greatest dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan award winner. She shone like a meteor on the horizon of Indian dance art. She was my senior. We all respected her.”
Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy were among the political leaders who expressed their condolences on the demise of Ms. Krishnamurthy.
In a statement in Hyderabad, Mr Dattatreya recalled Ms Krishnamurthy’s contribution to the world of classical dance and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul.
Expressing grief over the demise of Ms Krishnamurthy, Mr Naidu said, born in 1940 in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, the leading Bharatanatyam exponent had served as an ‘Ashtana Nartaki’ (local dancer) with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).
He said on X that Ms Krishnamurthy brought fame to Kuchipudi dance abroad.
Mr Reddy also took to X to pay tribute to Ms Krishnamurthy.
He said, “I am deeply saddened to hear about the demise of renowned Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam artiste Yamini Krishnamurthy garu. My condolences and prayers are with her family in this difficult time.”
The renowned Kuchipudi couple Raja and Radha Reddy said Ms Krishnamurthy had “attained salvation at the feet of Nataraja.”
“Yamini Krishnamurthy, leading Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi singer has attained salvation at the feet of Nataraja, the Lord of Dance… A great loss to the world of dance…. May the soul of a dear friend rest in peace, Om Shanti,” he said in a post on Instagram.
Jayalakshmi Eshwar, another Bharatanatyam artiste, said: “She made the dance form known globally, especially in the North. She was the most wonderful dancer with her beautiful expressions. It is very sad. I have been to her classes many times. I was her junior at Kalakshetra and whenever I met her, she invited me to practice, which boosted my confidence as a young dancer. She was a very sweet and affectionate person.”
Sangeet Natak Akademi also expressed condolences on the demise of Krishnamurthy by posting from its official X handle.
“The Sangeet Natak Akademi and its associate bodies express profound grief at the sad demise of leading Bharatanatyam artiste, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow and Padma Vibhushan awardee Yamini Krishnamurthy, who passed away today. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and prayers to Almighty to give them strength to bear this irreparable loss,” it said.
