Kalamandalam Sugandhi is a

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, choreographer and dance teacher 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 ...

, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award,

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 ...

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship is an honour presented 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 Depar ...

, Kerala Konkani Sahitya Academy Award and Kerala Kalamandalam Award.

Biography

Kalamandalam Sugandhi was born on 1950 December 2, in a

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

family at Valamgalam near Thuravoor in

Alappuzha district Alappuzha district (), is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to ''Alapp ...

to G. Sreenivasa Kamath and Anandi Kamath. The family had given her considerable support in making her a dancer. She started learning

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. ...

at the age of seven from Sathidevi, a graduate of

Thrippunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (Malayalam:തൃപ്പൂണിത്തുറ) is a prominent historical and residential region in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura wa ...

RLV College of Music and Fine Arts RLV College of Music and Fine Arts is an academic institution situated in Thripunithura, Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It is affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University and offers graduate and postgraduate courses in music, performing ...

. After two years, she trained Bharathanatyam under Palluruthy Surendranath. At the suggestion of K. N. Pisharody,

Guru Gopinath Perumanoor Gopinathan Pillai, more popularly known as Guru Gopinath (24 June 1908 – 9 October 1987) was a well known Indian actor-cum-dancer. He is well regarded as the greatest preserver of the dance tradition. He is a recipient of the San ...

, Tripunithura Madhava Menon and

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 ...

, her father added Sugandhi to study in the

Kerala Kalamandalam 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, especially those that developed in the country's southern states, with special emphasis on tho ...

. At the time of joining, her basic interest was on Bharathanatyam. In Kalamandalam she studied under

Kalamandalam Satyabhama Kalamandalam V. Satyabhama (4 November 1937 – 13 September 2015) was an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, known for her performances and scholarship in Mohiniyattam. She was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, for her contributi ...

, Kalamandalam Chandrika and A. B. R. Bhaskar. She studied Mohinayattam in 1968, as part of the last phase of the Bharathanatyam diploma course. After completing the course in 1969, at the age of 19, M. K. K. Nair the then chairman of Kalamandalam, who was also the chairman of FACT, appointed her as Mohiniyattam teacher in the art department of FACT. That is how she gets closer to Mohiniyattayam. Realizing Sugandhi's fascination with classical dance forms, Nair sent her to Vedanta Prahlad Sharma to study

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 ...

. Sugandhi met Bharathanatyam exponent Padma Subramaniam at a dance event in FACT and their relationship turned into a deep friendship. Later, in her 50s, she studied B.A in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

from

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

, and M.A in Mohiniyattam from Kerala Kalamandalam. At the age of 71, Sugandhi done her Doctorate in "Development of Pedagogy for Mohiniyattam Based on Natya Sastra" from Thanjavur Sastra University under Padma Subramaniam. Currently she is working as the Academic Dean in Kerala Kalamandalam.

Personal life

Sugandhi and her husband K. R. Damodara Prabhu have two children, Nanditha Prabhu, who is the founder of Mythri Centre for Arts, Chennai, and Naveen D. Prabhu who is a colonel in

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. Prabhu was an employee of FACT where she first joined as a Mohiniyattam teacher. They reside in Vidyanagar, near Cochin University campus in

Ernakulam district Ernakulam (; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'') is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, and takes its name from the Ernakulam, eponymous city division in Kochi. ...

Noted performances

Some of her performances include a full-length Mohiniyattam concert based on works of

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 ...

, ''Radha Madhavam'' based on

Ashtapadi ''Ashtapadis'' or ''Ashtapadi'' refers to the Sanskrit hymns of the ''Gita Govinda'', composed by Jayadeva in the 12th century. The ''ashtapadis'', which describe the beauty of Lord Krishna and the love between Krishna and the ''gopis'', are co ...

and ''Chithrangam'', a dance Self-composed and taught to over a thousand dancers, on the occasion of the arrival of

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (born 13 May 1956) is an Indian guru and spiritual leader. He is also referred to as Sri Sri or Gurudev. From around the mid 1970s, he worked as an apprentice under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditatio ...

to Kerala.

Notable disciples

Her disciples include Neena Prasad, Gopika Varma, Pallavi Krishnan, Swetha Mangalath, Priya Nair.

Books written

*Bharata Kala Lakshanam (Malayalam translation of

Padma Subrahmanyam Padma Subrahmanyam (born 4 February 1943, in Madras), is an Indian classical Bharatanatyam dancer. She is also a research scholar, choreographer, teacher, Indologist and author. She is famous in India as well as abroad; several films and documen ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

book ''Bharata Kalai Kotpadu'') *Natyavedu-Panchovo Vedu (in

) *Now she is writing a book ''Hasta Ratnakaram'' which deals with hand gestures in Mohiniyattam

Awards and honours

*Kerala State Schools Youth Festival 1962, First in Bharathanatyam *First in Kerala Kalamandakam Bharathanatyam competition 1962 *Pundareenath Bhuvanendra Award of the Kerala Konkani Sahitya Academy 1971 *

1985 *ITC Golden Greats Award 1990 *Senior Fellowship from Human Resource Development Ministry, Govt of India 1990 *Pundareenath Bhuvanendra Puraskar from Kerala Konkini Sahithya Academy 1997 *Award from Tapasya Sahithya Vedi and New Delhi Samskrita Bharati 1997 *Kerala Kalamandalam Award 1999 *Senior Fellowship from Ministry of Culture,

Govt. of India The Government of India (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 36 states and union territo ...

2003 *Dr.T.M.A Pai Foundation Award 2003 *

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 ...

2004 *

2011 *Kalaratna award from Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugandhi, Kalamandalam 1950 births Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian female classical dancers Mohiniyattam exponents Living people Dancers from Kerala Women artists from Kerala 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Indian dance teachers Indian classical choreographers Indian women choreographers Konkani people People from Alappuzha district Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award