Hailed as one of the most influential Kuchipudi masters of this era, Vempati Chinna Satyam, who passed away on Sunday, had made a place for himself in the world of dance as well as his disciple’s hearts.
“We gave performances together for about three months in USA. Despite leaving Kuchipudi, his village in Krishna district, at a younger age, he always kept in touch with his contemporaries and those who came to learn Kuchipudi in the village. His last visit to the village was seven years ago when he taught some techniques to students here,” recalled Padmasri Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma, a Kuchipudi dancer and guru.
Hailed for dedicating his life to Kuchipudi and refining the dance form by introducing new elements into it, Chinna Satyam trained thousands of students at his Kuchipudi Art Academy in Chennai. Known for his sublimated and systematised Kuchipudi, he refined the dance form and is credited for giving Kuchipudi dance a classical basis by bringing it closer to the standards of Natya Shastra through introduction of new elements.
He composed his first dance drama Sri Krishna Parijatham in the same period followed by another hit Ksheera Sagara Madhanam. Later, he went on to compose and choreograph over 180 solo items and 15 dance dramas including Padmavati Srinivasa Kalyanam, Vipranarayana Charitam, Menaka Viswamitra, Kalyana Sakuntalam, Bhama Kalapam, Chandalika, Rukmini Kalyanam, Hara Vilasam, Siva Dhanurbhangam and Ardha Nareeswaram.
“Pick any well-known Kuchipudi dancer in the world and he/she would be a disciple of Chinna Satyam or his disciple’s disciple. He is Mahamahopadhaya - a teacher to teachers,” says Dr Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry, one of the disciples of Chinna Satyam and the principal of Sri Siddendra Yogi Kuchipudi Kalapeetham at Kuchipudi in Krishna district.
Chinna Satyam also composed and choreographed dance sequences in about 100 movies including NT Rama Rao starrer Narthanasala. His disciples include well-known names like Kuchipudi dance gurus Padmasri Sobhanaidu and Manju Bhargavi, actors Jayalalitha, Hema Malini, Prabha and Kanchana to name a few.
The dance guru was conferred with the prestigious Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1956, Kalidas Puraskar by the Government of Madhya Pradesh and Kalaimamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu. He was honored with Kalaprapoorna doctorate degree by Andhra University in 1980. He was also honoured with many titles and awards such as Sangeet Peeth of Bombay, Asthana Natyacharya of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, TTK Memorial Award by Madras Music Academy etc.
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