Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ramankutty Nair" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Misplaced Pages editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (October 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair
Kalamandalam-Ramankutty-Nair, at Guruvayur, Kerala (January 2011)
Born	(1925-05-25)May 25, 1925 Vellinezhi, Madras Presidency, British India
Died	March 11, 2013(2013-03-11) (aged 87) Vellinezhi, Palakkad district, Kerala, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Kathakali Artist
Spouse	Saraswathi Amma
Children	Narayanankutty, Vijayalakshmi, Appukkuttan

Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (25 May 1925 – 11 March 2013) was a performer of Kathakali, who practiced the Kerala art form for more than seven decades.

Biography

His guru was Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, his only teacher in his entire career. Both hail from Vellinezhi, which is still known for producing many Kathakali artistes, in Palakkad district. Ramankutty Nair had served in his alma mater, Kerala Kalamandalam, and went on to become its principal.

Born in 1925, Ramankutty Nair hailed from a family with no Kathakali pedigree. But Ravunni Menon, a resident tutor at the renowned Olappamanna Mana (a mansion of the upper-caste Nambudiris) was an overarching presence in the cultural scene of the village, and soon little Ramankutty too fell under his spell. At Kerala Kalamandalam, where he subsequently mastered the art, Ramankutty Nair later sculpted out several disciples, the most prominent among them being Kalamandalam Gopi besides Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody, M.P.S. Namboodiri, Balasubramanian and the late K. Gopalakrishnan.

Many of the younger generation Kathakali artistes from Kalamandalam, like Soman and Shanmughan, too have had Ramankutty Nair as their guru for advanced training. (He retired as principal of Kalamandalam in 1985). In his later years, Ramankutty Nair was the chairman of Gandhi Seva Sadan, or Sadanam Kathakali Akademi as it is better known.

Active as an artiste till the age of 85, he performed across Kerala, and graced stages in the rest of India and several countries of the world. He was well known for his roles of Ravana in plays such as 'Thoranayudham' and 'Ravanolbhavam', Narakasura in 'Narakasuravadham', Duryodhana in 'Uttaraswayamvaram', Sisupala in 'Rajasooyam', Hanuman in 'Kalyanasaugandhikam', 'Thoranayudham' and 'Lavanasuravadham', Keechaka in 'Keechakavadham', Dharmaputra in 'Kirmeeravadham' and Arjuna in 'Kalakeyavadham'. Another famous role is that of Parasurama in 'Seethaswayamvaram', the costume of which was of his own design.

The generally reticent Ramankutty Nair, who has penned an autobiography named Thiranottam, was a winner of the coveted Padma Bhushan award of the Government of India. Renowned filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has made an eponymous documentary on Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair. of Kathakali, and is a film by the same name on him by Adoor Gopalakrishnan.

Personal life

The master lived in his native Vellinezhi with his wife Saraswati. On 15 May 2009, he celebrated his 'satabhishekam' (84th birthday) amid fanfare in the nearest town of Cherpulassery.

Ramankutty Nair died on 11 March 2013 at age 87.

Awards

• 1974 – Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
• 1985 – Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award
• 2004 – Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
• 2007 – Padma Bhushan
• 2010 – Honorary doctorate by Cochin University of Science and Technology

Sources

1. "Domain not found : NITK Surathkal".
2. "T.T.Raman Kutty Nair". www.indiansarts.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2007.
3. "Master of Perfection" from The Hindu, Mar 14, 2013
4. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
5. Review of the dancer's performance in the Hindu
6. Interview of the director on the film in Deccan Herald Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
7. Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair at London Film Festival
8. "Home".
9. "Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award: Kathakali". Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
10. "Acceptance speech by Sri. Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair". CUSAT. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2020.

External links

• Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (1925–2013) at IMDb
• Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (2005 Documentary) at IMDb

• 1925 births
• 2013 deaths
• Male actors from Kerala
• Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts
• People from Palakkad district
• Malayali people
• Kathakali exponents
• Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
• Dancers from Kerala
• Indian male dancers
• Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
• Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award