Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu mourned the death of scholar Modali Nagabhushana Sarma, who passed away on Tuesday night at his residence at Tenali in Guntur district. He was 84.
Offering condolences to his family members on Wednesday, Mr. Naidu said Mr. Sarma had dedicated his life for the development of theatre in the State and researched on the subject at the Illinois University. He had directed adaptations of plays like The Visit, Oedipus Rex, Hayavadana, Tuglaq, Mrichhakatika and Waiting for Godot.
Mr. Sarma, an authority on Kuchipudi dance history, played a key role in the documentation of classical and folk dance forms of Andhra Pradesh while was serving as a professor at the University of Hyderabad and the Osmania University. He was one of the founders of Nartanam, a quarterly magazine on Indian dance forms.
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He was an author and a playwright as well. His book – Kuchipudi: Gurus, Performers and Performance Traditions – is used by student at various universities.
Mr. Sarma had played an important role in introducing courses in Kuchipudi at the Krishna University (KRU), Machilipatnam, and was a member of the Board of Studies there.
“Professor Nagabhushana Sarma was an eminent scholar who contributed in the field of research and academics on Kuchipudi dance form,” said Pasumarthy Kesava Prasad, coordinator, Kuchipudi courses at the KRU.
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In January last, Mr. Sarma had visited Kuchipudi village, on a project to bring out a complete text on dance drama – Bhamakalapam – upon the request of the University of California.
Kuchipudi dancers mourned the death of scholar Mr. Sarma.