It was a triple honour for the ‘Doyen of Kuchipudi dance' ‘Padmabhusan' Vempati Chinna Satyam at Kala Bharathi Auditorium here making this World Dance Day a memorable one.
The State Government honoured him with ‘Natyacharya' award, citation, shawl and Rs.50,000; his disciples performed “Suvarnapooja”to him and his wife Samrajyalakshmi and the Kuchipudi Kalakshetra here is named after him. The rare honour to the most illustrious exponent of the dance was organised by the District Cultural Council, Visakha Samskrutika Sabhaa Samakhya (VSSS) and Visakha Art and Dance Association.
Tribal Welfare Minister P. Balaraju who honoured Dr.Chinna Satyam expressed concern at the worrying trends on the cultural scene putting a question mark on its direction. He pledged all support to cultural activities.
Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, S. Challappa said the felicitation was done here as Dr. Chinna Satyam could not attend the one held in Hyderabad. He said efforts would be made to install the statue of founding father of Kuchipudi dance Siddhendra Yogi, got sculpted by Mr.Chinna Satyam spending about Rs.7 lakhs, at a prominent place. Former MP M.V.V.S. Murthy said he was indebted to Mr. Chinna Satyam for establishing Kuchipudi Kalakshetra here 26 years ago. To bring back its past glory, VSSS president S. Vijay Kumar would be its president and a resolution was passed to the effect and the Kalakshetram would be named after Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam.
Noted musician Nedunuri Krishna Murthy described him as a synonym for Kuchipudi dance and a personification of Lord Siva, the god of dance. Former Mayor D.V. Subba Rao called him an incarnation to pass on the great heritage of Kuchipudi dance to the posterity. Visakha Music Academy president A. Prasanna Kumar recalled the spate of awards the dance virtuoso got after Andhra University honoured him with a doctorate and the Visakha Music Academy's award. Visakha Music and Dance Academy president C.S.N. Raju described him as ‘a one in a millennium guru.' Collector J. Syamala Rao, Mr. Vijay Kumar and Sri Vijaya Thyagaraja Sangeeta Sabha President D. Dakshina Murthy participated.
