End of an era: Bharatanatyam legend Yamini Krishnamurthy dies at 84

Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi veteran Yamini Krishnamurthy died at Apollo Hospital in New Delhi on Saturday. She was 84. "She was suffering from age-related issues and was in the ICU for the last seven months," Krishnamurthy's manager and secretary Ganesh told PTI.

Krishnamurthy's mortal remains will be taken to her institute — Yamini School of Dance at Hauz Khas — on Sunday morning. The details of her last rites are yet to be finalised. Krishnamurthy is survived by two sisters.

Born on 20 December 1940 in Madanapalli in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district to Sanskrit scholar M. Krishnamurthy, she took to dance at the tender age of five at the Kalakshetra School of Dance in Chennai under the tutelage of legendary Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Devi Arundale.

Also proficient in Kuchipudi, Krishnamurthy expanded her horizon by learning Odissi from the likes of Pankaj Charan Das and Kelucharan Mohapatra. Besides learning the various dance forms, Krishnamurthy was trained in Carnatic vocals and the veena.

Krishnamurthy received the Padma Shri at the young age of 28 in 1968, Padma Bhushan in 2001 and Padma Vibhushan in 2016. She was also conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1977.

Speaking about her contribution to Bharatanatyam, veteran dancer and one of her first students, Rama Vaidyanathan, said she brought "power, beauty and glamour" to the dance form. "Bharatanatyam is not going to be the same without her.... She was so focused and dedicated to classical dance. I am so fortunate to have been her first student almost 40 years ago. She added the star quality to the dance form," Vaidyanathan told PTI.

Krishnamurthy only thought about dance, as if she was "haunted by the dance inside her", she added. Vaidyanathan remembered a train journey she shared with Krishnamurthy and being surprised at seeing her sitting in the dark, as everyone else slept around her, thinking about a dance composition.

"I remember once we were travelling by train. I was in the upper berth and she was in the lower berth. In the middle of the night, I woke up. Everyone was sleeping and I could see her sitting there in the darkness, composing something. She was doggedly and feverishly dedicated to Bharatanatyam," the 57-year-old said.

Condolence messages poured in on X. Former Rajya Sabha MP and Bharatanatyam dancer Sonal Mansingh said Krishnamurthy "blazed like a meteor in the sky".

"Just got the sad news of the passing away of India's great dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy, Padmabhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardee. She blazed like a meteor across the sky, the firmament of the Indian dance art. She was my senior. We all looked up to her," Mansingh said in a post on the microblogging platform.

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy also took to X to pay tributes to Krishnamurthy. "I'm deeply saddened to hear of the demise of Yamini Krishnamurthy garu, the celebrated exponent of Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam. My thoughts and prayers are with her family in these difficult times," he said.

Famous Kuchipudi couple Raja and Radha Reddy said Krishnamurthy has "attained moksham at the feet of Nataraja".

"The Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi Prima Donna Yamini Krishnamurthy has attained the moksham at the feet of Nataraja the lord of dance.... A colossal loss to the dance world.... RIP dear friend Om Shanti," they said in a post on X.

Another Bharatanatyam exponent, Jayalakshmi Eshwar, said: "She made the dance form known globally, especially in the north. She was the most fantastic dancer with her beautiful expressions. It's very sad. I have been to her classes a few times. I was her junior at Kalakshetra and the few times I met her she called me to take her practice, that gave me a lot of confidence as a young dancer. She was a very loveable and affectionate person."

The Sangeet Natak Akademi also posted from its official X handle and mourned the demise of Krishnamurthy. "Sangeet Natak Akademi and its associate bodies deeply mourn the sad demise of Yamini Krishnamurti, a leading Bharatanatyam exponent, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow, and Padma Vibhushan Awardee, who passed away today. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved ones and prayers to the Almighty to give them enough strength to bear this irreparable loss," it said.