Vanashree and Jaya Rama Rao are a dedicated Kuchipudi duo; and their public appearances are, as a rule, exquisite. They both seem to have been perfectly groomed, by their own sadhana, for the 1998 Sangeet Natak Akademi award for classical dance, which was conferred on them quite recently. (See Sruti 185). The way they perform on the stage is not only technically flawless, but all along attractive, even to the untrained eye; and their different dances are, as a rule, skillfully produced.

But I admire them as much for their personal qualities as for their artistic prowess. Vanashree has been academically brilliant. As a post-graduate student of Political Science at Lady Shri Ram College, one of the prestigious women's colleges in New Delhi, she topped her class and was deservedly given a teaching assignment. But her fascination for Kuchipudi drew her away; and roughly for the last 30 years, this beautiful dance-form has been Vanashree's only concern, under the wings of her teacher Jaya Rama Rao.