Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody’s Kathakali career earned new sheen when the maestro recently won the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi fellowship.
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Author: Sreevalsan Thiyyadi
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Kalamandalam Devaki: The First Female Ottanthullal Dancer
Kalamandalam Devaki made history six decades ago by becoming the first female professional Ottanthullal dancer.
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Tholpavakkoothu: Colourful Crossover of Tamil puppetry to Kerala
The Bhadrakali cult nurtures Tholpavakkoothu in central Kerala shrines even as the night-time rustic art traces Tamil origins
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Mathoor and Madavoor: A Study in Contrasts
Kathakali veterans Mathoor Govindankutty and Madavoor Vasudevan Nair represent an interesting era in the history of the dance drama All his life, Madavoor Vasudevan Nair was an uncompromising practitioner of the Kaplingadan school of Kathakali, a style that flourished in his southern Kerala. That was strikingly unlike Mathoor Govindankutty who, in spite of his Kaplingadan...
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Koodiyattam and Covid: Ways to Overcome the Crisis
Senior and young exponents of Koodiyattam and Nangiarkoothu suggest virtual shows and online classes as means to retain the spirit of the two ancient theatres. Highlights from a recent panel discussion.
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Tanjavur Sankara Iyer: Musicians’ Musician
Carnatic vocalist-composer Tanjavur Sankara Iyer turned 97 this week. A look at his artistry, linking the start of the music career to Harikatha exponent C Saraswathi Bai. Her death anniversary was on the eve of Iyer’s birthday. A gathering in downtown Madras keenly waited for the famed C Saraswathi Bai to perform Harikatha. The 45-year-old failed...
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Sadanam K Harikumar: The Sculpting of a Multifaceted Artist
Terracotta sculptures have been of increasing interest to musician-dancer-lyricist Sadanam K Harikumar. A take on the all-round artist who won a Kerala Lalithakala Akademi honour recently. The schoolboy spent his leisurely hours with pot-makers, trying to mould small figures from clay. Then, into his thirties, Sadanam K Harikumar resumed that aesthetic engagement. This time, too,...
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Malini Rajurkar: A Hindustani Vocalist’s Unparalleled Journey
Khayal musician Malini Rajurkar’s mastery over taans lends her tappa a special flavour. The Gwalior gharana exponent turns 80. Malini Rajurkar’s tappa renditions roll out exhilarating vocal patterns that reinforce her excellent sense of geometry. One can, with an applausive smirk, part-attribute this taan eminence to the Hindustani musician’s exposure to mathematics during her college...
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Sarathi Chatterjee: Vocalist Extraordinaire
Vocalist Sarathi Chatterjee (1964-2020) was destined to synthesise two major schools of Hindustani classical. Indian music lost those rare notes abruptly.
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Kalamandalam Satheesan: Make-up Hand for Koodiyattam & Kathakali
Leading a rare dual career in two classical performing arts of Kerala, Kalamandalam Satheesan is busy in the greenrooms of Kathakali and Koodiyattam Kalamandalam Satheesan cherishes the memory of working on the face of Koodiyattam icon Mani Madhava Chakyar during a trip upcountry four decades ago. The stylized make-up was of Ravana in the ancient...
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