Kumari Kamala (born 16 June 1934) is an Indian dancer and actress (also known as Kamala Lakshman). Initially featured as a child dancer, Kamala appeared in almost 100

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

and

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

films throughout her career. In the 1970s, she became a teacher of the

Vazhuvoor Vazhuvoor (or Vizhuvur) is one of the original styles of Bharatanatyam, a major form of Indian classical dance. The main distinctive features include: *rich ''sringar'' elements *wide range of dancing pace *softer facial '' abhinaya'' *extremely ...

style of dance in which she specialises.

Early life and career

She was born at

Mayuram Mayiladuthurai (formerly known as Mayavaram or Mayuram) is a town and district headquarter of Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located at a distance of from the state capital, Chennai. Mayiladuthurai was ruled by Mediev ...

, India, and belongs to Tamil brahmin community. Her sisters Rhadha and Vasanti are also dancers. At an early age Kamala began taking lessons in the

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

dance style from

Lachhu Maharaj Pandit Bajinath Prasad also known as Pandit Lachhu Maharaj (1901–1978) was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer of Kathak dance. He came from a family of illustrious Kathak exponents in Lucknow, and also worked as film choreographer, ...

in Bombay. She also took lessons in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

from Shankar Rao Vyas. She was discovered at age four by Tamil film director A.N. Kalyanasundaram Iyer when he attended a dance recital. He cast her in small roles in his films '' Valibar Sangham'' (1938) and ''Ramanama Mahimai'' (1939) where she was billed as Kamala. Her dancing was noticed by other filmmakers and she moved to

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

with '' Jailor'' in 1938 and '' Kismet'' and '' Ram Rajya'' in 1943. Kamala's mother moved to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

so her daughter could train under the

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

teachers

Kattumannarkoil Muthukumara Pillai Kattumannarkoil is a panchayat town and taluk headquarters in Cuddalore district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. Kattumannarkoil Town Panchayat constituted in 1892. The town is coming under the administrative t ...

and Vazhuvoor B. Ramaiyah Pillai. Kamala's first role in a successful Tamil film came in 1944 with '' Jagathalaprathapan'' where she performed the

Paampu attam Paampu attam (snake dance) (Tamil:பாம்பு ஆட்டம்) is a folk dance from Tamil country, India. Snakes considered as the protecting divinity which safeguards the health and prosperity. Snakes are also related to the Hindu deit ...

. Kamala played a double role in her next film ''Sri Valli'' (1945) and also played

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

in the film ''

Meera Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Mirabai was born into a Rathore ...

''. However, it was her film '' Nam Iruvar'' that would make an impact on Tamil cinema. ''Nam Iruvar'' was full of patriotism and

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalis ...

songs, and its dances helped to revitalize and legitimize Bharatanatyam. The film is credited with sparking a "cultural revolution" throughout the Tamil speaking areas of India. In 1953, Kamala was invited to perform for Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

during her coronation festivities. In the late 1950s she toured internationally, performing in China and Japan. In 1970, the government of India awarded her the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, India's third highest civilian award. She also taught dance for two terms at

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theolog ...

after being awarded its Branta Professorship in 1975. In 1980, Kamala moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

permanently and began teaching classical dance. She established a dance school in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

, Shri Bharatha Kamalalaya. In 2010 she received a

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's ...

from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

for her contributions to the arts.

Personal life

She was married to cartoonist

R. K. Laxman Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman ''Pg. 11 in the source says that Laxman & his brother Narayan were Tamil Iyer Brahmins.'' (24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He is best known for his creation ...

, but the marriage ended in a divorce in 1960. Her second husband, T. V. Lakshminarayanan, died in 1983. She has one son from her second marriage, Jainand Narayan, an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Awards

*1967 -

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government o ...

*1968 - Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award *1970 -

*1975 - Branta Professorship from

*1989 - E. Krishna Iyer Medal from the Sruti Foundation *1993 - Sangeeta Ratnakara at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana *2002 - Platinum Jubilee award from Madras Music Academy *2010 -

*2012 - Soorya Lifetime Achievement Award in 4th St. Louis Indian Dance Festival

Partial filmography

*1938 '' Valibar Sangham'' *1938 '' Jailor'' *1939 ''Ramanama Mahimai'' *1941 '' Kanjan'' *1942 ''Chandni'' *1943 '' Kismet'' *1943 '' Ram Rajya'' *1944 '' Jagathalaprathapan'' *1945 '' Sri Valli'' *1945 ''

'' *1945 '' En Magan'' *1947 '' Ekambavanan'' *1947 ''Katagam'' *1947 '' Mahathma Udangar'' *1947 '' Nam Iruvar'' *1948 ''

Vedhala Ulagam ''Vedhala Ulagam'' () is a 1948 Indian Tamil-language fantasy film directed and produced by A. V. Meiyappan, and written by P. Neelakantan. Adapted from the play of the same name by Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar, the film stars T. R. Mahalingam, ...

'' *1950 ''

Vijayakumari Vijayakumari is an Indian stage, television and film actress. She was a stage actress at Kerala People's Arts Club and Kalidasa Kalakendra. She is the winner of the Kerala State award for best stage actress. Currently she is the Secretary of Ka ...

'' *1950 ''

Digambara Samiyar ''Thigambara Samiar'' () is 1950 Indian Tamil-language thriller film produced and directed by T. R. Sundaram. An adaptation of Vaduvoor K. Duraswamy Iyengar's novel of the same name, the film stars M. N. Nambiar and M. S. Draupadi. It revolv ...

'' *1951 '' Lavanya'' *1951 ''

Devaki Devaki ( Sanskrit: देवकी, IAST: ''Devakī'') is a character in Hindu literature, most noted for being the mother of the god Krishna. She is one of the seven daughters of Devapa or Devaka, a king of the Yadu dynasty, and has four b ...

'' *1951 ''

Mohana Sundaram ''Mohana Sundaram'' is a 1951 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by A. T. Krishnaswamy. An adaptation of J. R. Rangaraju's detective novel of the same name, the film stars T. R. Mahalingam and S. Varalakshmi. It wa ...

'' *1952 '' Parasakthi'' *1953 '' Manithan'' *1953 ''

Ulagam ''Ulagam'' () is a 1953 Indian Tamil-language film directed by L. S. Ramachandran. The film stars V. Nagayya and M. V. Rajamma. Plot The story spans three generations. Sabapathy is an average person and he married beautiful Meena. Sabapathy g ...

'' *1954 '' Vilayattu Bommai'' *1956 '' Devta'' *1956 '' Naane Raja'' *1956 '' Chori Chori'' *1956 '' Kula Dheivam'' *1956 ''

Charana Daasi ''Charana Daasi'' () is a 1956 Indian Telugu-language drama film written by Vempati Sadasivabrahmam and directed by T. Prakash Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Anjali Devi and Savitri, with music composed by S. Rajeswara ...

'' *1957 '' Kathputli'' *1958 '' Bhookailas'' *1958 ''

Thirumanam ''Thirumanam'' () is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by A. Bhimsingh, and produced and written by Valampuri Somanathan. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and Savitri. It revolves around a singer who does not sing for money, bel ...

'' *1958 ''

Illarame Nallaram ''Illarame Nallaram'' () is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language film directed by P. Pullayya. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and Anjali Devi. It was released on 1 August 1958. Plot Cast ;Male cast *Gemini Ganesan *V. Nagayya * M. N. Nambiar * ...

'' *1958 '' Yahudi'' *1959 '' Sivagangai Seemai'' *1959 ''Naach Ghar'' *1959 ''Naya Sansar'' *1960 ''

Parthiban Kanavu '' Parthiban Kanavu '' ( ta, பார்த்திபன் கனவு, , lit. Parthiban's dream) is a Tamil novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Details Adapted in 1960 into a film of the same name, starring Gemini Ganesan and Vyjaya ...

'' *1960 ''

Paavai Vilakku ''Paavai Vilakku'' () is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Somu and written by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Sowcar Janaki, Pandari Bai, M. N. Rajam and Kumari Kamala. It is based on Akilan's novel of ...

'' *1960 '' Veerakkanal'' *1961 '' Bhakta Kuchela'' *1961 ''Saugandh'' *1962 '' Konjum Salangai'' *1962 ''

Sumaithaangi ''Sumaithaangi'' () is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language drama film, written and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Gemini Ganesan, Devika and R. Muthuraman. Based on Ra. Ki. Rangarajan's novel of the same name that was serialised in '' Kumud ...

'' *1971 '' Jwala'' *1973 ''

Chenda The Chenda ( ml, ചെണ്ട, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende ...

References

External links

Official Website

"FRAGRANT PETALS-Kamala's Natyam" - a 3 episode video series on Kamala by her student Ramaa Bharadvaj
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamala, Kumari Performers of Indian classical dance 1934 births Living people National Heritage Fellowship winners Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts People from Mayiladuthurai district Indian female classical dancers 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Women artists from Tamil Nadu Dancers from Tamil Nadu