Apall of gloom descended on the tiny village of Kuchipudi in Krishna district, 60 km from Vijayawada after hearing the news of the demise of its famous son, Padmabhushan Vempati Chinna Satyam, on Sunday morning. The birthplace of the ancient dance form, Kuchipudi, was also the birthplace of the man who took the dance to great heights and won it audiences all over the world. Disciples of the great guru rushed to the bus stand to take a bus to Vijayawada from where they would board a train to Chennai to have a last glimpse of their guru.
A holiday was declared for Siddhendrayogi Kala Peetham at Kuchipudi on Monday. Describing Vempati as a muvva (tinkling ornament) of Lord Shiva, his disciple Vedantam Radhesyam said the ornament has now reached the abode of the Lord. “We are rushing to have a last glimpse of the family head of the Kuchipudi Agraharam.” Born in Kuchipudi village in Krishna district on October 25, 1929, to Vempati Chalamaiah and Varalakshmamma, Vempati started learning Kuchipudi at the age of five. His father sent him for training in Bharatanatyam to Kala Prapurna Tadepalli Peraiah Sastry and for Kuchipudi to Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastry.
Among the dance ballets he created are Sri Krishna Parijatam, Vipranarayana, Menaka Viswamitra, Chandalika, Srinivasa Kalyanam, Kalyana Rukmini, Haravilasam, Ramayanam, and Annamacharya. In 1960, Vempati also created the dance ballet Ksheera Sagara Madhanam written by Devulapalli Krishna Sastry with music by Balantrapu Rajanikanta Rao. The ballet was performed in several places in the state. He was also choreographer for 300 movies.
Among the awards he received were the Padma Bhushan in 1997, Madhya Pradesh Kalidas Samman in 1992, Kendra Sangita Nataka Akademi fellowship in 1991, Sir Singar award in 1993, Kalaimamani title from the Tamil Nadu government in 1994, D Litt from SV University in 1980, Kendra Sangita Nataka Akademi award in 1981, and Andhra Pradaesh Sangita Nataka Akademi award in 1992.
Former President of India Pratibha Patil honoured Vempati Chinna Satyam in Hyderabad in 2010.
In honour of the dancing guru, the African State of Ghana had declared September 25 as Vempati Chinna Satyam day in 1994.