‘Bharatha Kalamani’ dance guru C. Radhakrishna passes away in Bengaluru
The Hindu
C. Radhakrishna patronised the growth of dance and music, and was called the ‘Mysore Bhoja’. He encouraged dancers and also natyacharyas (dance teachers) who with their experience and talent formulated a dance form which came to be called as Mysore style of Bharatanatyam.
Renowned dance guru C. Radhakrishna passed away in his home in Bengaluru on March 30. He was 96. He had been ailing for some time. He had disciples in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. He was among the first teachers from Karnataka to earn recognition and acclaim in Tamil Nadu, which was where the accomplished vidwans (experts) resided.
He patronised the growth of dance and music, and was called the ‘Mysore Bhoja’. He encouraged dancers and also natyacharyas (dance teachers) who with their experience and talent formulated a dance form which came to be called as Mysore style of Bharatanatyam.
He and his wife Meenakshi are credited with keeping alive the rich tradition of the Kolar school of dance by studying manuscripts that were 150 years old. They presented performances based on the manuscripts that hold rare and complex compositions like Taayas, Prabhandhas, Swarapallavis, Swaraprabandhas, Sapthataleshwari Varnas, and lyrical pieces Geethanrityas, Churnikas, Telugu Ashtadikpalaka aradhana kautvams, and rare, Sanskrit Navarasa Shlokabhinaya, Padas, Srungara, Hasya Javalis, Suladis and Mangala Shlokas.
C. Radhakrishna took his first music lessons from Vidhvan Tavarekere Ramaraya at the age of eight. His maternal uncle Natuvannar N. Gundappa realised that the child also had an inclination towards dance.
In 1944, he gave his first music performance at Palli Venugopala Swami temple in Bengaluru. His first dance performance followed in in 1946 at the annual event of Vishweshwarapuram Teachers’ Association. In 1956, he opened a school of his own called ‘Chittaranjani Kalakshetra’.
Even as he pursued music and dance, his father got him to work as an apprentice in the Foundry Department of the Government Engineering College in Bengaluru where he was popular as the ‘Workshop Foundry Master’.
In 1959, one of his disciples Pushpa did her Rangapravesham at the Rasikaranjini Auditorium in Chennai. The articles in Kannada papers on this event highlighted a title - Bharatha Kalamani (gem of Indian art) - that he had been given by author K.S. Ramaswamy Sastri.
Political economist Parakala Prabhakar has described the exit poll results as “fudged figures”, saying that those would benefit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) only. “False predictions were given with the sole objective of helping the NDA in rigging during the counting,” alleged Mr. Prabhakar, after releasing a book titled ‘Avineeti Chakravarthi Narendra Modi’ penned by former Minister Vadde Shobanadreeswara Rao, here, on June 2 (Sunday).