Kadur Venkatalakshmamma, Mani Krishnaswami , Lakshmi Knight

Kadur Venkatalakshamma, a distinguished exponent of the Mysore Style of Bharatanatyam and an exemplary abhinaya artist, passed away on 3 July at her place of birth.

Venkatalakshamma was born on 29 May 1906 at Tandya-Tangali, a village, in the Kadur district of the then Mysore State. When she was nine, her grandparents migrated with her to Mysore in order to facilitate the development of the musical and dancing talent that inhered in her. Noticing this talent, Natya Saraswati Jetti Thayamma, a court dancer, accepted her as her disciple. Side by side, she learnt music from Chikka Rama Rao and later on from asthana vidwan B. Devendrappa, who was a disciple of Bidaram Krishnappa.

After intense training and practice, she made her debut as a dancer when she was 13 years of age.