Vijayawada :
The septugenarian dance exponent Mungara Yamini Krishna Murthy did her native Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh proud with her highest honour of Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, to be conferred on her on Republic Day. She had received Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan earlier for great contribution to Indian dance.
A legend in Kuchipudi and Bharata Natyam dance forms, Yamini was born in Madanaalli in Chittoor district on December 20, 1940. But she left her birthplace at an early age to fathom the depths of dance. She grew up in Chennai and later moved to Delhi. Yamini underwent training under the tutelage of Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry, Chinta Krishnamurthy and Pasumarthy Venugopala Sarma at Kuchipudi and Vempati Chinasatyam in Chennai, doyens of Kuchipudi dance forms.
Yamini Krishnamurthy broke the glass ceiling and forayed into the dance field, which was considered as a male bastion in those days. Sumana, a dancer and writer from Tirupati, observed, “She is a great inspiration to every artiste. Her abhinayam and expressions are marvellous and a model to emulate for all the upcoming artistes,” Sumana said. According to her, Yamini achieved an equal ease in both Kuchipudi and Bharata Natyam, a rare feet in deed. “It is a belated honour, bust she really deserves it,” sumana commented.
Dwaram Lakshmi, Head of Department of Music and Fine Arts, Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam, said it was unfair to limit her unusual accomplishments in the dance world to one particular place by virtue of it being her birthplace. She made the country as a whole proud by showcasing its culture, especially Kuchipudi, on a world platform.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Vijayawada / Gali Nagaraja, TNN / January 25th, 2016
The fellow-artistes from the district began tracing the footprints of the veteran dancer upon receiving the news of conferring Padma Vibhushan upon her. Romella Munikrishna Reddy of Bharata Muni Art Academy, Madanapalli, said with a sense of elation, “It is Yamini Krishnamurthy who found an envious place for our nondescript town on the world map after great philosopher and son of the soil Jiddu Krishnamurthy”. Although she left the place a long time ago, her hometown owned her honour gleefully.