Kerala Kalamandalam, a deemed-to-be-University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major centre for learning Indian

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

, especially those that developed in the country's southern states, with special emphasis on those from

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 ...

. The institution, on the banks of the

Bharathapuzha The Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila River, is a river in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It fl ...

river, is situated in the small town of

Cheruthuruthi Cheruthuruthy, also known as Vallathol Nagar, is a small town in India near Wadakkanchery Wadakkancherry () is a major town in Thrissur, Kerala. Up until 1860, this area was part of Chelakkara Taluk. It is the headquarters of Talappilly ...

Thrissur district Thrissur (), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about , th ...

History

The inception of Kalamandalam gave a second life to three major classical performing arts of

, bringing out

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 ...

Kudiyattam Koodiyattam (; IAST: kūṭiyāṭṭaṁ; ) is a traditional performing art form in the state of Kerala, India. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit theatre with elements of ''Koothu'', an ancient performing art from the Sangam era. It ...

and

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 ...

from a state of near-extinction in the early 20th century. Amidst its abyss, in 1927, poet

Vallathol Narayana Menon Vallathol Narayana Menon (16 October 1878 – 13 March 1958) was a Malayalam poet and one of the triumvirate of modern Malayalam poetry, along with Asan and Ulloor. The honorific Mahakavi was applied to him in 1913 after the publication of ...

and art-promoter Mukunda Raja came forward and formed a society called Kerala Kalamandalam. They solicited donations from the public and conducted a lottery in order to raise funds for this society. Kerala Kalamandalam was inaugurated in November 1930 at Kakkad house in

Kunnamkulam Kunnamkulam is a municipal town located in the Thrissur District of Kerala, India, with historical origins tracing back to the Paleolithic age. Renowned for its deep-rooted cultural heritage, vibrant printing industry, and religious diversity, ...

, and was, six months later shifted to Ambalapuram near

Mulakunnathukavu Mulakunnathukavu is part of Puzhakkal block, in Thrissur taluk, in Thrissur district. It is located north of Thrissur city. KILA is located here. Transportation * Mulakunnathukavu railway station is located here. * SH 22 is the major road pas ...

before eventually moved onto the village of

Cheruthuruthy Cheruthuruthy, also known as Vallathol Nagar, is a small town in India near Wadakkanchery Wadakkancherry () is a major town in Thrissur, Kerala. Up until 1860, this area was part of Chelakkara Taluk. It is the headquarters of Talappilly ...

, just south of

Shoranur Shoranur is a town and municipality located on the banks of the Bharathapuzha River, in the Palakkad district of Kerala. The town is spread over an area of 32.28 km². Geography Shoranur is located at . It has an average elevation of 49 ...

, in 1936. The

Maharaja of Cochin The kingdom of Cochin or the Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It originated in the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until i ...

donated the land and a building. Subsequently, a dance department was started to revive Mohiniyattom. Kerala Kalamandalam has been functioning as a grant-in-aid institution under the Cultural Affairs Department,

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

. In 2006, the Kalamandalam was accorded the status of 'Deemed University for Art and Culture' by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. In 2010,

University Grants Commission (India) University Grants Commission (UGC; ISO: ''Viś‍vavidyālaya Anudāna Āyōga'') is a statutory body under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. It was set up in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 and i ...

has given 'A' category status for Kerala Kalamandalam. Kalamandalam is the only deemed university in

state accorded the prestigious status.

Visits by prime ministers

The first

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

to visit Kerala Kalamandalam is

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

in 1955 for the Silver Jubilee of the Kerala Kalamandalam.

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

was the second

to visit Kerala Kalamandalam in 1980 and

V. P. Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the Raja Bahadur of Manda. He was educated at Allahabad University and Fergusson College in ...

in 1990.

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

is the fourth

to visit Kerala Kalamandalam in September 2012.

Courses

Kalamandalam imparts training in classical dance and theatre forms like

, Thullal,

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 roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit ...

Bharatanatyam ''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.< ...

, and

Nangiar Koothu ''Nangiar koothu'' or ''Nangyar Koothu'' () is an allied traditional art of Kutiyattam, an age-old Sanskrit drama tradition of India. It is performed traditionally by the women of the Ambalavasi Nambiar community of Kerala, known as ''Nangyaram ...

, besides the traditional orchestra called

Panchavadyam Panchavadyam (Malayalam: പഞ്ചവാദ്യം), literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idak ...

. Training is also given in various percussion instruments like

chenda The Chenda (, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende''. The instrument is strongly associat ...

maddalam The maddalam or madhalam (Malayalam: മദ്ദളം) is a drum made out of the wood of the jackfruit tree. It has two sides for playing, made out of leather, and has different kind of sounds on each side. The maddalam is a heavy instrument ...

and

mizhavu A mizhav or mizhavu (Malayalam: മിഴാവ്) is a big copper drum played as an accompanying percussion instrument in the Koodiyattam and Koothu, performing arts of Kerala. It is played by the Ambalavasi Nambiar community. After 1965, whe ...

. Kalamandalam follows the

gurukula A () is a traditional system of religious education in India with ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru in the same house for a period of time where they learn and get educated by their guruji. Etymology The word is a com ...

sampradayam, the ancient Indian education system based on residential tutelage. Kalamandalam was conceived to provide training to its students in the Gurukula Sampradaya, an ancient tradition of residential schooling where students stayed with the teachers. The first vice chancellor of kerala kalamandalam was K G Paulose (2007) and the last chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam was O.N.V.Kurup. Present vice chancellor is M V Narayanan.

Former chairpersons

The following is a list of Chairpersons/Vice chancellors of Kerala kalamandalam. The

, on the advice of the University Grants Commission declared Keralakalamandalam as deemed University as per order No. F9 -11/99 U3 dated 14-03-2006. The

approved the Memorandum of Association and Rules and subsequently the title "Chairman" was substituted by "Vice-Chancellor" (since 2007)

References

External links