The death of legendary Kuchipudi dancer and carnatic music vocalist, Pasumarthy Venugopala Krishna Sarma shocked all his disciples and the Kuchipudi fraternity. Sarma, 86, breathed his last on Sunday night at his son’s residence in Malkajgiri. He was cremated as per the Hindu tradition at the Bansilalpet electrical crematorium on Monday morning. A number of artists along with his family members attended the funeral.
Sarma’s services to both of the art forms were lauded in a condolence meeting held at Kalabhavan, organised by the AP State Cultural Council on Monday, which was attended by renowned dancers like Dr Uma Rama Rao, Dr Sumathi Koushal, Chinta Adinarayana Sarma and Voleti Rangaman, who conveyed their condolences to the family.
Often mentioned as Natya guru and Kalaprapoorna, Krishna Sarma was an adept teacher of the art and an excellent role model. He was instrumental in shaping stalwarts like Padmabhushan Yamini Krishnamurthy, Dr Vedantam Radheshyam, Raja Reddy Radha Reddy Mikkilineni Swarnalatha, Lanka Annapurna, Vedantam Satyanarayan Sarma, Mysore Nandini and Pasumarthi Kesava Prasad. Shocked at the loss of his guru, Dr Vedantam Radheshyam expressed, “He was more than just a guru. He helped us choose the right path in our lives. He was a great man with tough principles. I was able to get to play the role of Prahalad only because of his effort. I have been a part of all his programmes. He was extremely talented and could play both male and female roles with an equal grace.”
Sarma had performed in the presence of great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vinobha Bhave and Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy. He was awarded the prestigious Sangeeta Nataka Academy Award, followed by the state level Kalaratna award, by Govt of Andhra Pradesh in April, this year.
He immensely contributed in establishing Siddhendra Kalakshetra, a Kuchipudi dance school in Mavva Mandal, Krishna, and he was also its first principal. He had to his credit many innovatove experiments in the dance style of Kuchipudi, with regard to the Yakshagan patterns, presentations and aharyas. “Classical music and dance were deeply rooted in him and his dance sequences came to be be rendered highly lyrical leaving the aura of tradition and the rhythmn of transcendental touch,” said RV Ramanamurthy chairman, AP State Cultural Council, paying his tribute to the dancer. While another renowned Kuchipudi dancer, Dr Uma Rama Rao shares, “We have known each other for 15 years and we had been in touch quiet regularly. We both appeared for a dance exam also together. He was a great scholar and a great teacher. It is such a loss to the Kuchipudi fraternity. We were happy that we could felicitate him in the recently concluded festival. He didn’t get enough recognition for his talent in comparison to many of his students, who have already received honours.”
Krishna Sarma’s National Programme of Dance in 1959 from Delhi Doordarshan Kendra, contribution to documentaries like Prahlada and Bhama Kalapam in 1972 for the Central Films Division and a short film Yamini for the Delhi Centre of the division were some of his additional achievements. His association in staging Bhakta Prahalada, Rama Natakam, Usha Pariyanam, Parvathi parinayam either as an artist or a choreographer left imprints of his artistry.
