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{{Short description|Indian dancer (1922–2006)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kumbakonam K. Bhanumathi
| birth_name = K. Bhanumathi
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date text|1922}}
| birth_place = [[Kumbakonam]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{death year and age|2006|1922}}
| death_place =
| parents =
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation = [[Bharatanatyam]] dancer
| known for =
| awards = [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] (1973)
}}
'''Kumbakonam K. Bhanumathi''' (1922–2006) was an Indian [[bharathanatyam]] dancer from [[Kumbakonam]], [[Tamil Nadu]]. In 1973, she received the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] for Bharatanatyam.

==Biography==
Kumbakonam K. Bhanumathi was born in 1922 in [[Kumbakonam]] in present-day [[Tamil Nadu]], into a family of traditional dancers.<ref name="SNA">{{Cite web |title=Kumbakonam K. Bhanumathi |url=https://www.sangeetnatak.gov.in/public/uploads/awardees/docs/K.%20K.%20Bhanumathi.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609205907/https://sangeetnatak.gov.in/public/uploads/awardees/docs/K.%20K.%20Bhanumathi.pdf |archive-date=2023-06-09 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.sangeetnatak.gov.in |url-status=live }}</ref> She was born in a [[devadasi]] (traditional temple dancer) family.<ref name="narthaki">{{cite web |title=Information - Snippets - 2023 |url=https://narthaki.com/info/snippets/snippets23.html |website=narthaki.com}}</ref> Bhanumathi received her training in Bharatanatyam from Papanasam Vadivelu Nattuvanar, and under him she had her arangetram (first stage performance) at the age of ten.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Douglas M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3EsA2NooW4C&dq=kumbakonam+bhanumathi&pg=PA309 |title=Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life |date=2010-06-15 |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |isbn=978-0-8195-6906-6 |pages=68 |language=en}}</ref> Later she studied under Shanmukha Sundaram Nattuvanar<ref name=":1" /> and [[Mylapore Gowri Ammal]]<ref name="Oxford">{{cite web |title=K. Bhānumathi |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095503570 |website=Oxford Reference |language=en }}</ref> also.

Bhanumathi died in 2006.<ref name="narthaki"/>

==Career==
In her early years, Bhanumathi danced with her aunt Varalakshmi, and they were known as the 'Varalakshmi Bhanumati Duet'.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Ramani |first=V. V. |date=2017-11-02 |title=Documentary on Kumbakonam Bhanumathy |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/documentary-on-kumbakonam-bhanumathy/article19967705.ece |access-date=2025-01-27 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=2020-05-21 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200521162623/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/documentary-on-kumbakonam-bhanumathy/article19967705.ece |url-status=live }}</ref>

She danced in many parts of the country, and also in Ceylon for 25 years.<ref name="SNA"/> In 1938, she played the female lead in the Tamil film [[Jalaja (film)|Jalaja]], which was based on Bharatanatyam.<ref name="SNA"/><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|url=http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/cineprofiles/1938-cinedetails34.asp |title=Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru |last=Film News Anandan |publisher=Sivagami Publishers |year=2004 |location=Chennai |language=Tamil |trans-title=Tamil film history and its achievements |author-link=Film News Anandan |archive-url=https://archive.today/http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/cineprofiles/1938-cinedetails34.asp |archive-date=25 June 2020 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>

In the early 1930s, Bhanumathi was a fierce rival to [[Balasaraswathi]], another noted dancer of her time.<ref name=":1" /> Bhanumathi who studied vocal music from Balasaraswathi's mother, Jayammal, would sing while she danced.<ref name=":1" />

In 1932, [[E. Krishna Iyer]] introduced her to an American woman, who liked her dancing and offered her a two-year contract to perform in the United States.<ref name=":1" />

Kumbakonam Varalakshmi and Bhanumathi are two figures who were part of the transformation of Bharatanatyam.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kabilan |first1=Kannalmozhi |title=An unequal art |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2020/Jul/09/an-unequal-art-2167212.html |work=The New Indian Express |date=10 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref> The transformation of Bharatanatyam, both before and after independence, saw many changes in the attire of the dancers. This was warmly welcomed by Kumbakonam Bhanumathi, and she began wearing the stitched attire designed by dancer [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]]. Meanwhile, dancers like Balasaraswathi advocated for traditional attire.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Sruthi Magazine |year=1998 |pages=66 }}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
Bhanumathi has been honoured by various cultural organisations, including the Tamil Nadu Sangeetha Nataka Sangham. In 1973, she received the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] for Bharatanatyam.<ref name="Oxford"/>

==Works on her==
In 1993, Sujatha Vijayaraghavan made a documentary on Bhanumathi, as part of her senior fellowship Padavarnam project.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhanumathi, Kumbhakonam K.}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:Bharatanatyam dancers]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]

Kumbakonam K. Bhanumathi - Revision history

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