WMani Damodara Chakyar (1946–) is a Kutiyattam and Chakyar Koothu artist in Kerala state of south India. He is a nephew and disciple of legendary guru Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam Padma Shri Māni Mādhava Chākyār. He belongs to the great Mani Chakyar tradition of Koodiyattam and Chakyar koothu.
WGuru Mani Madhava Chakyar was a celebrated master performance artist and Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist and authority of modern times. He was considered as the authority of Abhinaya and Nātyaśāstra.
WGuru Chandrasekharan (1916–1998) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor of Kathakali. He was born in Trivandrum, India in 1916. His father was N.K. Nair, an artist and notable oil painter. Guru Chandrasekharan held tenure at the Visva Bharati University (Santiniketan) from 1947 to 1950, where he was a Professor of Classical Dance, focusing on Kathakali.
WChemancheri Kunhiraman Nair, also known as Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair is an Indian Kathakali actor. He has spent over eighty years learning and teaching and performing Kathakali, a major form of classical Indian dance The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honor, Padma Shri in 2017.
WKalamandalam Gangadhran was a prominent Kathakali musician from Kerala. His unique tenor and accent has earned him a large audience both within and outside Kerala. He was the most prominent disciple of Kalamandalam Neelakandan Nambeesan, and the Master of the many later generations of Kathakali Musicians. He was a visiting professor at Margi, an organization dedicated to the revival of Kathakali and Kutiyattom, two classical art forms of Kerala. In 2006, he was honoured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
WVadakke Manalath Govindan Nair popularly known as Kalamandalam Gopi, is an Indian dancer who is an exponent of the classical dance-drama style known as Kathakali.
WKottakkal Chandrasekharan was a senior Kathakali artiste known for his portrayal of the virtuous pachcha and anti-heroic Kathi roles in the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India. Born at Naduvattam near Pattambi in Palakkad district in 1945, he was a prominent disciple of Padma Shri Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair and Kottakkal Krishnankutty Nair. His father was A.M. Kumaraswami Bhattathiripad and mother was P.V. Parukkutty Warassiar.
WSadanam Krishnankutty is a cultural artist and a popular performer of Kathakali, a unique classical dance-drama form of Kerala, South India. A recipient of Kerala State Kathakali award and Kalamandalam fellowship, he is reputed for his skill in donning a wide range of characters in his acts. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2007.
WPattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon (1880-1948) was a pivotal figure in the history of Kathakali, having played a crucial role in remoulding and refining its grammar in the famed Kalluvazhi tradition of the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India. He was trained in the art form at a culture-patronising Namboodiri mansion in Vellinezhi near his home, even as his genius ensured that Menon later redrew the aesthetics of Kathakali and its future profile altogether.
WMadavoor Vasudevan Nair was a veteran Kathakali artiste. He was survived by his wife and 3 children out of whom Ganga thampi is also a dancer.
WKalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair (1928–2007) was an eminent Kathakali exponent, equally known for his capacities as a tutor, theoretician and author of a few authentic texts on the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India. A son of the Kathakali guru Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, Padmanabhan Nair was one of the early-batch students in Kerala Kalamandalam, where he subsequently joined as a teacher and retired as its principal in 1990. He died on 3 April 2007, at his home in Shoranur, near his alma mater, where he led his post-professorial life with wife and Mohiniyattam exponent and guru, Kalamandalam Satyabhama.
WKalamandalam Ramankutty Nair was a performer of Kathakali, who practiced the Kerala art form for more than seven decades.
WNelliyode Vasudevan Namboodiri or Nelliyod Vasudevan Namboodiri is a Kathakali artiste, noted primarily for his vibrant portrayal of the evil chuvanna thaadi roles of the classical Kathakali dance-drama from Kerala in south India.
WKavungal Chathunni Panicker was an Indian classical dancer, known for his proficiency in Kathakali, the traditional dance form of Kerala. He was an exponent of the Kavungal School of Kathakali, noted for its rigorous training methods and overt physical interpretation of abhinaya. He is known to have brought innovations to the dance form, especially in the decorative movements (kalasam) and his contributions are reported in the development of grammar and costumes for the Kavungal School. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1973, Panicker was honored again by the Government of India, in 2006, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
WChavara Parukutty Amma was an Indian artiste of the Kathakali dance drama. She was one of the few women exponents of this overwhelmingly male tradition. For her services to the art of Kerala, she was honoured with the Kerala Kalamandalam and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi awards.
WTirur Nambissan (1942-1994) was a Kathakali singer. He was born as Narayanan Nambissan at Tirur in the Malappuram district of Kerala in southern India. He started learning music at the age of seven, while attending the local boys' high school. He could, however, not continue his formal education or his musical education because of the unexpected deaths of his mother, three brothers and father, as well as the suicide of his younger sister - all this before he was 15 years old.
WGuru Chenganoor Raman Pillai, also spelt Chengannur Raman Pillai (1886–1980), was a celebrated Kathakali artist from Kerala in south India. He was known for his brilliant portrayal of the anti-heroic Kathi roles on stage, and was the head of palace kathakali yogam to the Travancore Maharaja in a career spanning almost 65 years.
WKalamandalam Vasu Pisharody is a leading Kathakali artiste known for his restrained portrayal of character roles in the classical dance-drama of Kerala in south India. A frontline disciple of Padma Shri Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair, he excels in virtuous pachcha, anti-hero Kathi and the semi-realistic minukku roles alike. Nalan, Bahukan, Arjunan, Bhiman, Dharmaputrar, Rugmangadan, Narakaasuran, Ravanan, Parashuraman and Brahmanan are his masterpieces.
WKoppillil Radhakrishnan is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) between November 2009 and December 2014 as Chairman of Space Commission, Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of ISRO. Prior to this, he was the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (2007-2009) and Director of National Remote Sensing Agency (2005-2008) of the Department of Space. He had a brief stint of five years (2000-2005) in the Ministry of Earth Sciences as Director of Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).
WRaghuram was an Indian dance choreographer, who choreographed more than a thousand songs in Indian films across various languages. He was born into a Tamil Brahmin Iyer family and is the grandson of actor Krishnaswami Subrahmanyam.
WDharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He succeeded his uncle Marthanda Varma, who is credited with the title of "maker of modern Travancore". During his reign Dharma Raja not only retained all the territories his predecessor had gained but administered the kingdom with success. He was addressed as Dharma Raja on account of his strict adherence to Dharma Sastra, the principles of justice by providing asylum to thousands of Hindus and Christians fleeing Malabar during the religious and military onslaught of Tipu Sultan.
WSmitha Rajan is an Indian Mohiniyattam performer from Kerala and granddaughter of the legendary Indian classical dancer couple of Padma Shri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma. Her mother Sreedevi Rajan is a noted Mohiniyattam Guru and Smitha's teacher. Her father was the late T. R. Rajappan.
WHaripad Ramakrishna Pillai born in Haripad, Kerala was a Kathakali actor, from Kerala in south India.
WMaya Krishna Rao is an Indian theatre artist, stand-up comedian and social activist. Her well-known plays include Om Swaha, Dafa No. 180, Ravanama and Heads Are Meant for Walking Into. She is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2010), which she returned five years later citing growth of intolerance in India.
WMrinalini Vikram Sarabhai was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city of Ahmedabad. She received many awards and citations in recognition of her contribution to art. She trained over 18,000 students in Bharatnatyam and Kathakali.
WKottakkal Sivaraman was a performing artiste who revolutionised the portrayal of female roles in Kathakali, the classical dance-drama from Kerala in southern India.
WRavi Varma Kunjikkuttan Thampuran was a Malayalam film actor, Kathakali artist and writer.
WUnnayi Warrier was a poet, writer, scholar, dramatist who lived in Kerala, India during the later part of the 18th century. He is best known for his chef-d'oeuvre Nalacharitham aattakatha and is known to have made significant contributions to the art of Kathakali, the classical dance-drama form of Kerala.
WMargi Vijayakumar is a noted Kathakali artiste who has specialised in female roles in the classical dance-drama from Kerala, south India. A prominent disciple of the late Padma Shri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, he has gained name in his poised handling of Purana characters like Damayanti, Panchali, Mohini and Kunti, mostly opposite star dancer Kalamandalam Gopi.
WKalamandalam Sankara Warrier is an acclaimed Indian percussionist of the Kerala ethnic drum called maddalam, and has specialised in its playing for the dance-drama of Kathakali.