With his immense talent as a dancer, Padma Shri Dr Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma was one of the most famous male exponents of the female roles in the Kuchipudi tradition. He passed away in Vijayawada recently. He was 77.
Born in 1935, he began his leesons in dance in his fifth year, and began with his role of Prahlada in the dramas. Later, he began portraying the female roles. Over the years, he became known for his Mugdha Nayiaka roles. Under the tutelage of Lakshminarayana Sastry, a master in this art, Satyanarayana grew to become one of the finest artistes. He learnt classical music from Sishtu Brahmayya and later perfected it under the tutelage of Eleswarapu Sitaramanjaneyulu. He also learnt Bhamakalapam that was created by Siddhendrayogi, and performed in the role of Satyabhama. Later, he joined Pasumarti Kondalarayudu Pelam. He was also trained in Yakshjaganas and learnt Bharatam from Lakshminarayana Sastry. Over the time, he was known for his roles as Satyabhama, Usha, Devadevi and Viswa Mohini.