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{{Infobox person<br />
|image = <br />
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|3|21|df=y}}<br />
|birth_place = [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]] (then [[Dutch East Indies]])<br />
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2011|6|7|1923|3|21}}<br />
|death_place = [[Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences]] (NIMS), [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]] <br />
|nationality = Indian<br />
|caption =<br />
|name = Nataraja Ramakrishna <br> నటరాజ రామకృష్ణ<br />
|affiliation = <br />
|known_for = Classical dancer, Guru, Writer, Classical Dance Composer, Reviver of [[Andhra Natyam]], [[Perini Shivatandavam-]]<br />
|other_names = <br />
|spouse = <br />
|parents = Damayanti Devi, Rammohan Rao<br />
|religion = <br />
| awards = {{Awd|[[Padma Shri]]|1992}}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Nataraja Ramakrishna''' (21 March 1923 – 7 June 2011) was a dance guru from [[Telangana]], [[India]]. He was the chairman of Andhra Pradesh Sangeeta Nataka Academy.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kuchipudi |author-link=Sunil Kothari |last=Kothari |first=Sunil |author2=Avinash Pasricha |page=7 |year=2001 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-359-5 }}</ref> He was also a scholar and musicologist who promoted classical dance in Andhra Pradesh and worldwide.<br />
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==Early life==<br />
Ramakrishna was born in [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]] to an ethnic [[Indian Indonesian|Indian]] migrant family of [[Telugu people|Telugu]] descent from the Indian state of [[Andhra Pradesh]] whose parents are named, Damayanti Devi who hailed from [[Nalgonda]], and Ramamohan Rao, from [[East Godavari]].<ref name="Suresh">{{cite news| url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/andhra-pradesh/article2084870.ece?homepage=true | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu | first=Suresh | last=Krishnamoorthy | title=Kuchipudi legend Nataraja Ramakrishna passes away | date=7 June 2011}}</ref> His mother was a [[Veena]] exponent. Ramakrishna lost his mother at the age of three. The family later returned to India.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ponnam |first1=Ravichandra |title=నాట్యకళా చరిత్ర పరిశోధకుడు నటరాజ రామకృష్ణ {{!}} సోపతి {{!}} www.NavaTelangana.com |url=http://www.navatelangana.com/article/sopathi/993445 |website=NavaTelangana |access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref><br />
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From his childhood, Ramakrishna was interested in classical dance forms. He left his family and property for the love of art since his father did not approve of it. He spent his boyhood in [[Ramakrishna Math]] at [[Madras]] and Mahatma Gandhi's ashram. His elder brother Shyama Sundar was his mentor. During his childhood he came in touch with gurus like Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, Vedantam Laxminarayana Sastry, Naidupeta Rajamma, Pendyala Satyabhama and Jampa Muthyam under whom he learnt various forms of art. His first dance teacher was Sukhdev Kartak in [[Nagpur]].<ref name="Suresh"/><br />
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==Dance and awards==<br />
His dance performance before the royal assembly consisting of scholars, poets, art critics and the elite of [[Nagpur]] city was his turning point. At the age of 18, he was given the title of ‘Nataraja' in Nagpur, by the then ruler of [[Maratha]]. He was the architect of the revival of the [[Andhra Natyam]] dance form, a devotional temple dance tradition performed in Andhra Pradesh for over 400 years until virtually extinct.<ref>Uma Rama Rao, K. (1992). Kuchipudi Bharatam, or, Kuchipudi dance: a South Indian classical dance tradition. Sri Satguru Publications. p. 63. {{ISBN|978-81-7030-291-9}}.</ref> He is also known for reviving [[Perini Shivatandavam]], 700-year-old dance form and brought international fame to it along with [[Kuchipudi]] -another traditional dance form. On request of the then [[Chief Minister]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]] he established Nritya Niketan - a dance school at [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]].<br />
Other awards bestowed upon him were the [[Padma Shri]] in 1992,<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | title=Padma Awards | publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India | date=2015 | access-date=21 July 2015}}</ref> "Kala Prapoorna"- a doctorate from the [[Andhra University]] and a ‘Bharata Kala Prapoorna,'- by Andhra Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi and NTR State Award by Andhra Pradesh State government. He was awarded with [[Raja-Lakshmi Award]] in 1991.<br />
Over his long career he trained many dancers and wrote and choreographed highly acclaimed dance dramas. He helped to propagate Chindu Yakshaganam (Telugu: చిందు-యక్షగానం), an ancient folk form of [[Telangana]] and revived other folk arts like Tappetagullu (Telugu: తప్పెటగుళ్లు) of [[Srikakulam]] and [[Vizianagaram]] districts, Veera Natyam and Garagalu of East and West Godavari districts, Devadasi dance and dance tradition of temples performing [[Adhyatma Ramayana]]. He also helped and encouraged dance artistes like Dommaras, Guravayyalu, Urumulu and Veedi Bhagavatulu. He also practiced Satvikabhinaya- a dance art. He composed life of Lord [[Venkateshwara]] as a "Nrutya nataka" ([[ballet]]).<ref>{{cite web|author=Varsha |url=http://andhranatyam.com/gurudeva.htm |title=Bharatakalaprapoorna, Padmasri Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna |website=Andhranatyam.com |date=2000-04-15 |access-date=2017-01-05}}</ref> As a research scholar sponsored by the Government of India, he worked in the then [[USSR]] (now [[Russia]]) and [[France]] to propagate Indian dance art, making a comparative study of Indian and western Classical and folk dances.<ref>Lal, Mohan (2006). The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature, Volume 5. Sahitya Akademi. p. 4385. {{ISBN|978-81-260-1221-3}}.</ref> He was bestowed with the [[List of Sangeet Natak Akademi fellows|Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship]] (Academi Ratna) on 21 January 2011.<br />
He wrote more than 40 books, many of them highly awarded, and his contribution to the art of dance is widely recognized. With his innumerable performances, lecture demonstrations and through his extensive travels he created an awareness not only of [[Kuchipudi]] dance, but also revived the lost and forgotten dance forms of Andhra Pradesh. He was awarded Bharata kala prapoorna award.<br />
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==Death==<br />
As per his wish, Nataraja Ramakrishna was laid to rest in a plot allotted by Government near the [[Taramati Baradari]] in [[Hyderabad]], built by seventh Sultan of Golconda, Abdullah Qutb Shah who as an ode to his favorite courtesan, Taramati.<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
{{SangeetNatakAkademiFellowship}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramakrishna, Nataraja}}<br />
[[Category:Indian male dancers]]<br />
[[Category:Indonesian people of Indian descent]]<br />
[[Category:1933 births]]<br />
[[Category:2011 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship]]<br />
[[Category:Performers of Indian classical dance]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]<br />
[[Category:People from Nalgonda district]]<br />
[[Category:Dancers from Andhra Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Telugu people]]</div>imported>Strickesel