One of the great artistic luminaries of Andhra Dance is Yamini Krishnamurti.
Skilled in both Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam, she is most famous for her achievements in the latter. Indeed, some have even remarked that “Yamini was not made for Bharatanatyam but that Bharatanatyam was made for Yamini.”
Considered the most famous and accomplished Classical Indian dancer today, her article is the next one in our continuing series on Andhra Personalities.
Background
Born to a Telugu-speaking family in Madanapalli, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, Mungara, Yamini Krishnamurti was raised in Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. Her grandfather famously named her “Poornatilaka”, which means “beautiful mark on the brow of light”.
She began learning dance at age 5, and had numerous teachers to meet the needs of her long study of Natya and advanced schooling in it. She was later trained by Rukmini Devi Arundale (founder of the Kalakshetra dance academy in Chennai). Her instructors for Kuchipudi were Chinta Krishnamurthi and Pasumarthy Venugopal Krishna Sharma. She later learned Odissi under Pankaj Charan Das, giving her crown not 1, not 2, but 3 jewels of Classical Indian Dance.
In addition to dance, she was also trained in Carnatic vocal and veena, making her a complete musical artiste.
She never married as she is noted to have remarked that “Dance is the only passion in my life”.
Yamini gaaru fleet-footedly performing in her prime
Achievements
(The Legendary Mangalampalli, Balamurali Krishna provides vocal accompaniment )
Rare for Bharatanatyam dancers, she was trained in two schools Pandanallur and Kanchipuram (others being Vijayanagaram, Thanjavur, Vazhuvur, and Melattur). The former is more traditional and the latter more liberal.
Yamini Krishnamurti completed her first solo performance at the age of 17, in Chennai.
She was Awarded the Padma Sri at the strikingly young age of 28; a testament to her talent.
Yamini gaaru was later granted the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1977.
The great danseuse finally received the Padma Bhushan in 2001. While no dancer has received the Bharat Ratna to date, she is considered the most deserving of such national recognition.
She was named a fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (Akademi Ratna) in 2010.
Over four decades she has trained hundreds of students, the most notable being Ranjani Ramakrishnan and Rama Vaidyanathan.
The legendary dancer was anointed “Asthana Narthaki” (Court Dancer) of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
Legacy
The internationally acclaimed Yamini Krishnamurti is one of the leading modern lights of Classical Dance.
Known across continents for her stage-presence, statuesque stance, moon-like face, and above all, peerlessly expressive eyes, she is no doubt a Natya Ratna.
While her legacy spans the globe, she continues to supervise the training of students in India. She founded and leads the Yamini School of Dance in Delhi, and presently runs the Nritya Kaustubha Institute there. Her autobiography is called “A Passion for Dance”.
Above all, she should be celebrated for dedicating her life to the classical arts while tirelessly encouraging the younger generation to learn and appreciate them.
“I teach dance to a lot of kids…and they are happiest when they dance. I think dance is a human experience. The human body needs this kind of expression. I think every child should know something about dance and movement. It gives greater confidence and self-awareness.”
So great is her commitment to bringing the beauty of dance to youth that she even teaches natya to children with disabilities. Indeed, she herself has stressed the importance of requiring the instructor to teach properly so that the student remains inspired (a lesson that applies not only to dance and the arts, but to other classical fields such as language, philosophy, history, etc).
You have to be careful to find a teacher who knows dance and how to teach it…You have to learn properly. Then, you will never lose interest.
Rare among dancers today, she is a considered a “complete artist”, meaning she has studied ” sangeetam (music), sahitya (literature) and shastras (scriptural texts)”. Indeed, this accomplishment highlights the importance of reviving the Classical Indic Education for the benefit of not only our leaders and thinkers, but our business elite and artistes as well.
This is one of the many reasons why Yamini Krishnamurti gaaru remains one of our great Andhra Personalities. She is undoubtedly an Andhra Ratna and is truly deserving of being the first Bharat Ratna for Natya.
Movie on Yamini Krishnamurti
References:
- http://www.narthaki.com/info/rev14/rev1573.html
- http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/may/30spec1.htm
- http://www.indusladies.com/culture/learn-more-about-mesmerizing-bharatanatyam-dance-form/?all=1
- http://www.andhranews.net/Features/Events/World-Telugu-Conference.asp
- http://mahilalu.com/yamini_krishna_murthy_success_story.php
- http://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/for-yamini-krishnamurti-dance-is-a-way-of-life/article6400549.ece#comments
- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/destined-to-dance/article2397834.ece
