World renowned Kuchipudi dancer Vempati Chinna Satyam dies

Legendary Kuchipudi dance guru Vempati Chinna Satyam, who made the dance form an international phenomenon, died yesterday at the age of 82. Tributes poured in for the maestro from noted dancers like K.V. Lakshmi and Lalit Kumar Gupta and Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari and Minister for Ports, Airports and Infrastructure Ganta Srinivasa Rao. All of them expressed their grief on the death of the iconic dancer. Vempati had trained many noted dancers of today, including actors Manju Bhargavi and Hema Malini. Manju said, My parents were very close to him and he came and saw me at the hospital. I started learning from him when I was seven, and every class was memorable. She added, But, he was a task master when it came to teaching dance. He was particular about the rigour in training. If Kuchipudi is so popular today, it is solely because of his efforts.