[6][7] She was born in Malleswaram, Bangalore to orthodox Konkani Saraswat Brahmin family of Hattangadi Sanjeev Rao, a renowned architect in the city, and Subhadra Bai.

At an early age she learnt Hindustani classical music – vocal and instrumental dilruba from Rama Rao, being from an orthodox family where girls didn't learn dance, considered a taboo.

However, this changed when at age 12, after she and her architect father watched dancer Uday Shankar's troupe perform at BRV Talkies auditorium in Bangalore.

Finally, her father allowed her to start her Kathak training in 1942, with a promise to never dance professionally or on stage, which she was soon break.

Subsequently, in 1955, she received the prestigious Government of India scholarship and trained under noted Guru, Shambhu Maharaj of the Lucknow Gharana at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi.

[8][9][13][14] Thereafter, she was based in Delhi for several years before she moved NIKC to Bangalore on invitation from the then Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, which opened on 12 July 1987.

[2][15] Already known for her abhinaya anga, she has to her credit several notable dance ballets production, such as Venkateshwara Vilasam, Kathak through the Ages, Art and Life, Surdas, Barsha Mangal, Tarana, Ramayana Darshanam, Hoysala Vaibhava, The Vision of Amir Khusrau, Tulsi Ke Ram, and Urubhanga by Bhasa,[12] besides Krishnadevaraya, Vijayanagara Vaibhava, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar's Kaamana Billu and works of noted Kannada writer Kuvempu.

[21] She died of massive cardiac arrest shortly after midnight on 1 September 2014, at M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Bangalore, where she was admitted around 11.30 pm due complains of breathlessness and chest pain.

She was survived by her sisters Chitra Venugopal and Uma Rao, and daughter Madhu Nataraj, Kathak and contemporary dancer.