Eminent Kuchipudi dance exponent Shobha Naidu passed away in the early hours of Wednesday at a private hospital in Hyderabad. She was undergoing treatment for her illness at the hospital for the past few days.

Shobha Naidu, one of the renowned Kuchipudi dancers of India and a disciple of master Vempati Chinna Satyam. She was born in Anakapalle, Visakhapatnam district in 1956. She has choreographed 80 solo numbers, 15 ballets, and trained over 1,500 students from India and overseas. She received Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2001. She was also honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award. Sri Krishna Gana Sabha of Madras gave her the title 'Nritya Choodamani'. She served as the principal for the 40-year-old Kuchipudi Art Academy, Hyderabad.

Condolences have been pouring in on social media over the sudden demise of Shobha Naidu. Several celebs from the dance community are taking to social media to pay their last tribute to Shobha Naidu. Here are some of the tweets.

Renowned Kuchipudi Guru, Padmashri Smt #shobhanaidu passed away on Oct 13 in Hyderabad. She was born in 1956 at Anakapalli in Andhra Pradesh and was trained by legendary Vempati Chinna Satyam. We are deeply saddened by her loss and pray for the departed soul. Om Shanti! pic.twitter.com/Zm9kPPHYEa
— SPIC MACAY (@spicmacay) October 14, 2020

Condolences on the passing away of Padma Shri Shobha Naidu Ji. Om Shanti. #shobhanaidu #kuchipudi
— Dr. Arnav Anjaria (@ArniTheGreat) October 14, 2020

Extremely tragic news of the sad demise of #shobhanaidu Kuchipudi artiste, SNA & PadmaShri awardee. May she find eternal peace at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna🙏 Naman @sangeetnatak @MinOfCultureGoI @UnitedAndhra pic.twitter.com/AHFZdY0TKh
— Prathibha Prahlad (@PrathibhaP) October 14, 2020

My favorite dancer ever! An exemplary person who rejected few of the best roles offered of #Tollywood to be able to stay dedicated to #kuchipudi seva. I’ve seen no one better than her at #bhamakalapam. Padma Shri Dr. #shobhanaidu ..What a huge huge loss. May she RIP 🙏 pic.twitter.com/oYn6MYlucS
— Spandana Akella (@spandanaakella) October 14, 2020