Gopika Varma is a

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

born

Mohiniyattam ''Mohiniyattam'' is an Indian classical dance form originating from the state of Kerala. The dance gets its name from Mohini – the female enchantress avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who helps the devas prevail over the asuras using h ...

dancer and dance teacher who is settled in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India. She received several awards including

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

and Kalaimamani.

Biography

Born and raised in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

, Gopika Varma migrated to Chennai from Kerala in 1995. She started learning dance at the age of three, from her mother. At the age of 10, Gopika started learning Mohiniyattam from Girija and Chandrika Kurup and later she received specialized training from Kalyanikutty Amma and her daughter, Sreedevi Rajan. Gopika learned the ''Abhinaya'' (acting) part of Mohiniyattam from

Kathakali ''Kathakali'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Theatre of India, Indian theatre. It is a play of verses. These vers ...

exponent

Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair (27 March 1914 – 15 August 1990) was a Kathakali dancer from Kerala in India. Life He is a recipient of Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, and Kerala Sangeetha Nat ...

. She also studied

Bharathanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism. ...

under Vazhiyur Ramayyar Pillai, for 18 years. Although her guru was Kalyanikutty Amma, Gopika Varma follows her own style in Mohiniyattam. She has also performed Mohiniyattam in ''Sopana'' style under

Kavalam Narayana Panicker Kavalam Narayana Panikkar (1 May 1928 – 26 June 2016) was an Indian dramatist, theatre director, and poet. He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare, notably Kalidasa's ''Vikramorvasiy ...

. She runs a Mohiniyattam Dance School in Adyar,

under the name "Dasyam".

Personal life

Gopika Varma is married into the

Travancore royal family The Travancore royal family was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Travancore. They signed a treaty with the British in 1788, thereby adopting British dominance. Later, in 1805, they revised the treaty, leading to a diminution of royal authorit ...

, to Poorurttathi Thirunal Marthanda Varma, descendent of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

king

Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma III (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He was a great musician and composer who has to his credit over 400 classical compositions in both Carnatic and Hindustani st ...

. Other than running a dance school, she runs a shelter home for the physically challenged and a textile unit for their work. She lives in her house ''Ramalayam'' in Adyar, Chennai.

Notable dance performances

Gopika choreographed and performed dance named ''Ayonija Panchakanyaka'', about five unborn virgins in Indian mythology. She has performed the poem ''Radhayevide'' written by

Sugathakumari Sugathakumari (22 January 1934 – 23 December 2020) was an Indian poet and activist, who was at the forefront of environmental and feminist movements in Kerala, India. Early life Sugathakumari was born in Aranmula on 22 January 1934 in the m ...

and composed by M. Jayachandran, in Mohiniyattam form.

Yamini Reddy Yamini Reddy is a Kuchipudi ''Kuchipudi'' ( ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roo ...

, Kritika Subramaniam, Gopika Varma and Suhasini together choreographed and performed the dance named ''Antaram''. ''Chayamukhi'' is another dance performance she did. The dance performance on Indian mythological characters

Kunti Kunti (, un̪t̪iː ), also known as Pritha (, ">r̩t̪ʰaː/nowiki>, ), is a prominent female character in the ancient Hindu epic '' Mahabharata''. She is chiefly recognised as the mother of the central characters—the five Pandavas—h ...

and

Ahalya In Hinduism, Ahalya (, IAST: Ahalyā) also spelt as Ahilya, is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures describe her legend of seduction by the king of the gods Indra, her husband's curse for her infidelity, and her liber ...

, done as part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

, was also notable. She is now doing a dance composition based on

Shankaracharya Shankaracharya (, , " Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of te ...

's life.

Awards and honours

2018 *

2008 *

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...

2004 She is the first dancer to receive Kalaimamani for Mohiniyattam. * Nritya Choodamani Award 2010 from Krishna Gana Sabha * Abhinaya Kala Ratna Excellence Award * Sathya Abhinaya Sundaram 2007 * Kaladarpanam Award 2003 * Yuva Kala Bharathi award by Bharat Kalachar 2001. She is the first Mohiniyattam dancer to receive this award. * Outstanding Performance Award by the House of Commons – London 2003 * Satya Abinaya Sundaram * Natya Kala Vipanchee * Rajakeeya Puraskaram

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopika, Varma Indian female classical dancers Mohiniyattam exponents Living people Dancers from Kerala Women artists from Kerala 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award