Mungara Yamini Krishnamurthy is an eminent dancer of Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi. She is a strong believer of talent and dedication, which she says are imperative. “A dancer must have tremendous personality.

Combination of talent, dedication, creativity and being emotive are imperative. A coupling of these four qualities with technique is essential. Monotony is deterrent as it regards your style and I notice today, that new dancers perform in a startlingly similar fashion”, as was quoted by her.

While she debuted in the year 1957, her life was dedicated to the art of dancing. Since childhood, Yamini was very keen to learn dance and shifted to Chennai at 5 years of age to pursue dancing. She joined Kalashetra, a school of Dance run by legendary Rukmini Devi. So strong was her hold over her trade, that her first performance made her a star overnight. Critics have observed that her dancing reflects rhythm personified

She was a known face in classical dance by 1960, touring the world to give performances. She created awareness for Kuchipudi and received loud appreciation wherever she went. She also made a serial on dancing for Doordarshan that was well received by the audience. She imparts and shares her skills with young dancers at her institute, Yamini School of Dance in New Delhi. “The past has been exciting, the present extremely challenging. As for the future, it holds a lot of promise and many surprises”, as was quoted by her.

‘A Passion for Dance’, written by her can be found in the study of every Bharatnatyam dancer. She has dedicated her life to dance and has opted to remain celibate. On remaining unmarried, she said “Marriage did not happen because it was not meant to be. As for children, all my disciples are my children.”

Her dancing was recognized and appreciated by one and all for the sheer grace she brought on stage. She was awarded many awards including the Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan which are ranked as the highest civilian honours of our country.

Apart from these honours she was presented with Natya Shastra award by Shambhavi School of Dance at "Nayika-Excellence Personified" on the occasion of Woman's Day on 8 March 2014.

- compiled by Pavani Kodati