Kumari Kamala

Kumari Kamala is an Indian dancer and actress. She was born on 16 June 1934 in Mayuram, Madras Presidency. Back in her days, she was also known by the names Kamala Lakshman, Baby Kamala, Kamala Laxman, Kamla Laxman, Kamala Narayan, and Kamala Lakshmi Narayanan. Her sisters Rhadha and Vasanti are also dancers. Her first marriage was to a cartoonist R. K. Laxman, but they divorced in 1960. She again got married to T.V. Lakshminarayanan but he died in 1983. From her second marriage, she has a son named Jainand Narayan. He works as an officer in the United States Army. She started taking lessons in the Kathak dance style from Lachhu Maharaj Pandit Lachhu Maharaj was an Indian Indian dancer >> Read More... in Bombay. At the age of four, Tamil film director A.N. Kalyanasundaram Iyer discovered her in a dance recital. He cast her in his films, ‘Valibar Sangham, released in 1938, and ‘Ramanama Mahimai’, released in 1939. She moved to Hindi films with ‘Jailor’ in 1938, and ‘Kismet’ and ‘Ram Rajya’ in 1943.

She learned Bharatanatyam from Kattumannarkoil Muthukumara Pillai and Vazhuvoor B. Ramaiyah Pillai. She has worked in almost 100 Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films throughout her career. She specializes in a dance style called ‘Vazhuvoor style’ and she became a teacher of that style in the 1970s. She has received various awards throughout her career like Kalaimamani in 1967, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1968, Padma Bhushan in 1970, Branta Professorship from Colgate University in 1975, E. Krishna Iyer Medal from the Sruti Foundation in 1989, Sangeeta Ratnakara at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana in 1993, Platinum Jubilee award from Madras Music Academy in 2002, National Heritage Fellowship in 2010, and Soorya Lifetime Achievement Award in 4 th St. Louis Indian Dance Festival in 2012.

Kumari Kamala Family Tree (Infographic Family Tree)