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Nataraja Ramakrishna learnt dance in the Devadasi
tradition from Nayudupeta Rajamma, once attached to the temple of Lord
Shiva, at Sri Kalahasti. Rajamma, popularly called Raji, was a scholar
in Sanskrit and Telugu, an expert in abhinaya and classical music. She
was the very epitome of the Devadasi dance tradition which had by then
become extinct due to the Devadasi Act. In his two years of learning
under her, working twelve to sixteen hours each day, Ramakrishna became
adept in rendering Padams, mainly of Kshetrayya as well as the entire
text of Gita Govinda which formed half of his teacher's repertoire. What
he learnt at Sri Kalahasti laid a strong base for every creative
activity that he embarked upon in later years.
('Nataraja Ramakrishna: Crusader and Visionary' by M. Nagabhushana Sarma, Nartanam, Oct– Dec 2016)
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