( 1912 – 1969 )
Son of Smt Annapurnamma and Sri Venkataramayya; Krishna Murthy was initiated in to dance by his father. He grasped all its intricacies under his benign guidance and also mastered music with the help of Yeleswarapu Sitharaamaanjaneyulu. He participated in all the dance dramas of Kuchipudi with the support of his father and as a child artist played the roles of PRAHLAADA, LOHITHAASYA, DHARMAANGADA, LAVA and KUSA. From the age of fifteen, he under took roles of NAAYAKAAS (heroes) like HARISCHANDRA,RAAMA, LAKSHANA, RUKMAANGADA, KRISHNA, ARJUNA,DEVENDRA with equal ease. He was particularly popular for the roles of HARISCHANDRA, KRISHA, PAAMULAVAADU (snake – charmer), also called as SINGADU in BHAKTHA PRAHLADA and CHAAKALI a washer man in RAAMANAATAKAM.
The organization of VENKATARAMA NATYA MANDALI earlier in the hands of his father and then his elder brother Raama Murthy, was passed on to Krishna Murthy after his brother’s death. Since then he lead the group as its SUTHRADHAARA. HARIKATHA PITHAAMAHA Aadibatla Naaraayanadaasu highly complimented his role as SUTHRADHAARA. He was adept in all the dance dramas numbering over ten and in this endeavor Krishna Murthy documented the YAKSHAGAANAAS in 1959 in the All India Radio, Vijayawada; with meticulous care and great expertise. He abridged BHAKTHA PRAHLAADA, which originally ran for three consecutive nights, to a duration of six hours and later further reduced it to one and half hours, without sacrificing either quality or the context.
Krishna Murthy was one of the persons who played a crucial role along with Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao, in the establishment of SIDDHENDRA KALAKSHETRA at Kuchipudi, at exactly the site where Bhaagavathula Vissayya started a small school of dance under a thatched roof. He worked as Principal of Kalakshetra and his brilliance as a teacher, performer and musician merited recognition from several organizations. He was honored numerous times in Andhra Pradesh, and was awarded the much sought after award from Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi(1968) he was also honoured by Andhra Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi with the title BHARATAKALA PRAPOORNA (1968).
