Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair (27 March 1914 – 15 August 1990) was a
Kathakali dancer 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 ...
in India.
Life
He is a recipient of
Padma Shri,
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award,
, and
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship.
A native of
Cheruthazham in Payyanur Taluk of Kannur district in North Malabar, Kerala he was initiated into Kathakali in his early teenage years under the tutelage of Guru Chandu Panikker. By 19, he was noticed by
Kerala Kalamandalam co-founder, poet
Vallathol Narayana Menon, who inducted Krishnan Nair into his institute, then near Mulankunnathukavu, north of
Thrissur in central Keralawhere that Krishnan Nair trained under
Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, Thakazhi
Kunchu Kurup,
Kavalappara Narayanan Nair and
Mani Madhava Chakyar
Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar (IAST: ''Māṇi Mādhava Cākyār'')
(15 February 1899 – 14 January 1990) was a celebrated master performance artist and Sanskrit scholar
from Kerala, India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiy ...
.
Krishnan Nair had his higher studies on ''
Rasa-abhinaya'' (facial emotions which stressed on eye exercises) from the
Kudiyattam maestro Natyacharya
Māni Mādhava Chākyār, who too won the Padma Shri. Krishnan Nair was deeply influenced by Shri. Chakyar.
Krishnan Nair, towards the second half of his life, had made
Tripunithura near
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
his home. Kathakali was always traditionally performed by men. In 1975 a women's group was formed and they were trained by Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair.
The
Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram Ladies Troupe went on to national recognition.
Krishnan Nair died on 15 August 1990, aged 76.
See also
*
Kathakali
*
Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon
*
Guru Kunchu Kurup
*
Māni Mādhava Chākyār
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Kalamandalam Krishnan
Kathakali exponents
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Malayali people
Dancers from Kerala
1914 births
1990 deaths
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
People from Kannur district
Indian male dancers
20th-century Indian dancers
Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship
Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award