Legendary Classical Dance Yamini Krishnamurthy passes away

The legendary Indian classical dancer Dr Yamini Krishnamurthy passed away on 3 August 2024 in New Delhi. She was 83 years old. She was considered one of the foremost classical dancers of India and influenced the classical dances in India for decades.

Multi-talented  Dr Yamini Krishnamurthy 

Dr Yamini Krishnamurthy was a multi-talented personality. She was born on 20 December 1940 in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, 

• In her childhood, she started learning Bharatanatyam classical dance at Rukmini Devi Arundale’s Kalakshetra. After mastering Bharatanatyam, she also learned the Kuchipudi and Odissi classical dance forms.
• Dr Yamini Krishnamurthy was trained in Kuchipudi from Laxminarayana Sastry and Pasumarthi Venugopalan Krishna Sharma. 
• She was trained in Odissi by the renowned Odissi guru Pankaj Charan Das and Kelucharan Mohapatra.
• However, later, she focussed on Bharata Natyam and Kuchipudi dance forms, earning fame in India and abroad.
• In addition to dance, she was trained in Carnatic music and also played Veena. 

Honour and Recognition 

• Dr Yamini Krsihanmurthy received many awards and honours during her life.
• She received India’s third-highest civilian award - Padma Bhushan in 2001.
• She received India’s fourth-highest civilian award - Padma Shri in 1968.
• She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1997.
• The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, honoured her with the title of Asthana Narthaki (Resident Dancer).
• She is the only second person to be ever honoured by the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam temple, the other being legendary Carnatic vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi.
• Dr Yamini Krishmaurthy's autobiography, A Passion for Dance, was published in 1995. It was written by Renuka Khandekar 

Classical Dance form of India 

According to the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, there are nine classical dances of India. 

Bharatanatyam - Origin Tamil Nadu 

Manipuri  -Origin in Manipur 

Kathak -Origin in  northern India,( Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan),

Odissi-Origin in Orissa i

Kathakali or ‘story play’ -Origin in Kerala

Mohiniyattam-Origin in  Kerala 

Kuchipudi -Origin in Andhra Pradesh

Sattriya -Origin in Assam, 

Chhau -Origin in the tribal region of Eastern India -- Orissa, Jharkhand, and West Bengal 

Read about India’s Classical Dances: Types, and Specifications.