Nataraja Ramakrishna

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Nataraja Ramakrishna
నటరాజ రామకృష్ణ
Born(1923-03-21)21 March 1923
Hyderabad
NationalityIndian
Known forClassical dancer, Guru, Writer, Classical Dance Composer, Reviver of Andhra Natyam, Perini Shivatandavam-
Parent(s)Damayanti Devi, Rammohan Rao
AwardsPadma Shri
1992

Nataraja Ramakrishna (21 March 1923 – 7 June 2011) was an Indian dance guru. He was the chairman of Andhra Pradesh Sangeeta Nataka Academy.[1] He was also a scholar and musicologist who promoted classical dance in Andhra Pradesh and worldwide.

Early life

Ramakrishna was born in

East Godavari.[2] His mother was a Veena exponent. Ramakrishna lost his mother at the age of three. The family later returned to India.[3]

From his childhood, Ramakrishna was interested in classical dance forms. He left his family and property for the love of art since his father did not approve of it. He spent his boyhood in

Madras and Mahatma Gandhi's ashram. His elder brother Shyama Sundar was his mentor. During his childhood he came in touch with gurus like Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, Vedantam Laxminarayana Sastry, Naidupeta Rajamma, Pendyala Satyabhama and Jampa Muthyam under whom he learnt various forms of art. His first dance teacher was Sukhdev Kartak in Nagpur.[2]

Dance and awards

His dance performance before the royal assembly consisting of scholars, poets, art critics and the elite of

Perini Shivatandavam, 700-year-old dance form and brought international fame to it along with Kuchipudi
, another traditional dance form.

On request of the then

Raja-Lakshmi Award in 1991. Over his long career he trained many dancers and wrote and choreographed highly acclaimed dance dramas. He helped to propagate Chindu Yakshaganam (Telugu: చిందు-యక్షగానం), an ancient folk form of Telangana and revived other folk arts like Tappetagullu (Telugu: తప్పెటగుళ్లు) of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts, Veera Natyam and Garagalu of East and West Godavari districts, Devadasi dance and dance tradition of temples performing Adhyatma Ramayana
.

He also helped and encouraged dance artistes like Dommaras, Guravayyalu, Urumulu and Veedi Bhagavatulu. He also practiced Satvikabhinaya- a dance art. He composed life of Lord

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Academi Ratna) on 21 January 2011. He wrote more than 40 books, many of them highly awarded, and his contribution to the art of dance is widely recognized. With his innumerable performances, lecture demonstrations and through his extensive travels he created an awareness not only of Kuchipudi
dance, but also revived the lost and forgotten dance forms of Andhra Pradesh. He was awarded Bharata kala prapoorna award.

Death

As per his wish, Nataraja Ramakrishna was laid to rest in a plot allotted by Government near the Taramati Baradari in Hyderabad, built by seventh Sultan of Golconda, Abdullah Qutb Shah who as an ode to his favorite courtesan, Taramati.

References

  1. .
  2. ^ a b Krishnamoorthy, Suresh (7 June 2011). "Kuchipudi legend Nataraja Ramakrishna passes away". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  3. ^ Ponnam, Ravichandra. "నాట్యకళా చరిత్ర పరిశోధకుడు నటరాజ రామకృష్ణ | సోపతి | www.NavaTelangana.com". NavaTelangana. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  4. .
  5. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ^ Varsha (15 April 2000). "Bharatakalaprapoorna, Padmasri Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna". Andhranatyam.com. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  7. .