Artiste Usha Srinivasan, 54 years, who passed away on June 8, was an Adyarite for nearly two decades. A senior disciple of the legendary nattuvanar K. N. Dandayudhapani Pillai, Usha was a firm follower of this renowned Bharathanatyam tradition. She was a prominent performer until the mid 80s. Later, she established her own dance school 'Hasta' where she trained a number of young dancers, some of whom have established themselves in the field.

Colleagues say Usha was a hard working, strict teacher who believed in the traditional roots of dance; yet she was open to many new ideas in the contemporary dance scene and that led her to compose quite a few innovative approaches, which she presented on well-known platforms.

A master's degree in english literature from Kerala University and a post graduate diploma in business management from Anna University gave Usha the foundation to engage herself in the artistic field as well as play a vital role in her husband's company dealing in leather machinery.

Friends say she was known for her extraordinary generosity; she went out of the way to help anyone who was needy and deserving. Many in the dance world cannot easily forget her, as her house was always open to them, providing either the rehearsal space or a transit accommodation.

She was a visiting faculty member of Sutra Dance Theatre of Malaysia and was instrumental in introducing some of the bright young artistes from there to the Chennai cultural scene.

Usha always willingly shared her deep knowledge of dance, with her genuine affection and spontaneous humour and remarkable worldly wisdom, her friends said.

Usha's generosity and care for the society grew in great measure when she had to confront cancer in 2004. While she was undergoing treatment at the Adyar Cancer Hospital, she quietly found sources of several agencies through the internet and arranged substantial funds for the Cancer institute, apart from donating her personal saving of one lakh rupees.

Ever full of enthusiasm and earnestness to help, Usha fought the disease with utmost courage and confidence.

She was preparing for a diploma in Saiva Siddhanta when she fell ill. Apart from her various achievements in the dance world as a performer, teacher, guide, organiser and co-ordinator for different organizations and events, Usha's contribution to the field of arts, a VCD-DVD project 'Natya Samarpanam' wherein she conducts and presents a whole Bharathanatyam repertoire of her chosen tradition, will be remembered.

Usha is survived by her husband Srinivasan, son Vivek, aged parents and brothers. The family lives at 1, 5th Cross Street, Karpagam Garden, Adyar. Ph: 24916931, 98400-51441.

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