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| Yamini Krishnamurthy (1940-2024) |
- Brian Mendonca
Yamini Krishnamurthy (1940-2024) has passed on.
Classical dancer, par excellence, she blazed a trail leaving a fandom in her wake. Proficient in Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam, and Odissi styles she shared these forms with a wider audience in the 60's.
Awarded the highest civilian honour in India, the Padmavibhushan, she was committed to her art and loved it intensely.
Hailing from a Telugu family she was born in Madanpalle, Andhra Pradesh. She grew up in Chidambaram in the 50's awed by the temple sculptures of the Thillai Nataraja temple dedicated to Shiva.
She learned dance, at Kalakshetra, Chennai, giving her first performance in Chennai in 1957.
In the 60's and 70's dance had moved out of the temples and out onto the stage. 'This wasn't a time when dance was being looked down upon or attached to prostitution. It was a serious vocation,' says Yamini.
She moved to Delhi in 1990 where she started her Yamini School of Dance in Hauz Khas.
Her final adieu was given by her students who danced for her one last time.
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