Bharatanatyam teacher Kamala Bhat passes away at 70

Vidhushi Kamala Bhat was training students at her home in Urwa that was called “Natyalaya”

Vidhushi Kamala Bhat, 70, who has been training students in Bharatanatyam in Mangaluru for several years, passed away in her house, near Urwa Marigudi temple, in Mangaluru, on Tuesday (December 17, 2024) night.

Born in 1954 in Kasaragod, Vidhushi Bhat learnt Bharathnatyam from senior Bharatanatyam guru Ullal Mohan Kumar, Vidwan B.R. Sundar Kumar and Vidhushi Revati Narasimhan. She was training students at her home in Urwa that was called “Natyalaya”. She held dance classes in a house near Mangaladevi temple for several years before moving to Rama Lakshmi Convention hall, near Ramakrishna Mutt.

Nearly 100 of her students have completed ‘Vidwat’ under her guidance. There are batch of ‘Vidwat’ students who were presently undergoing regular training at her house. A passionate dance teacher, Ms. Bhat held dance classes for students of Canara School in Urwa too. Finding passion in her students, Ms. Bhat fuelled their passion by training them for free if students were found to be poor.

Natyalaya students’ performance has been regular feature during annual temple fairs in the region, including that of Mangalala Devi temple and Urwa Marigudi temple. Her students have been performing during the Mangaluru Dasara at Kudroli Gokarnanatha temple.

Vidhushi Bhat was conferred Karnataka Kalashree award by Karnataka Sangeeta Nrutya Academy in 2020. She also received Dakshina Kannada District Rajyotsava award, Sri Rama Vittala award Nrutya Kala Sindhu award and Kalkura award.

Several people paid homage at her house in Urwa on Wednesday, before commencement of last rites.

Published - December 18, 2024 08:15 am IST